Long journey home
by Niliathiel
Summary: Taking place 2 years after Maeve was washed overboard. The crew of the Nomad is sailing to trade goods when they lose their way in an unnatural fog and Sinbad has a strange dream. Sinbad / Maeve
1. Lost and found

_Author´s note__: I recently discovered Adventures of Sinbad again and watched the complete first season. I never watched the second though, so the storyline of this little story takes place after season 2 and not mentioning much of what went on there, also because this is supposed to be a Sinbad / Maeve fic eventually._

_Well, what else to say… taking place 2 years after Mave was washed overboard. Hope you enjoy. Please drop a line ;-)_

_Disclaimer__: Even though I wish I owned Sinbad, nope, I don´t. I´m just toying around with these people and promise to give them back when I´m done with them. _

**Chapter 1**

**Lost and found**

It was an unnatural fog – one of the like they had not sailed through for quite a time, years most likely. The sight was so bad that they could not see ahead further than a stone throw, but it seemed there were no dangers after all, for the wind was merely a breeze that was strong enough to make the sails of the Nomad billow slightly. At least they were not caught on the spot with no winds to take them from here, Sinbad thought as he left his place by the tiller to Firouz for a moment and looked up to the crows nest where one of the crew was looking out, trying to see through the mist – without much of a success as he was sure, which was the reason why he did not even bother to yell up there asking if the man could see any land. If there was any it was hidden from their view.

Sinbad was feeling weary. The journey had started as a routine, shipping a load of random goods from the port of Baghdad to a small island somewhere near the southern end of Greece. Things had gone according to plan. No strange adventures, no troubles, no dangers more threatening than the fact that they had nearly run out of drinking water by now since the journey back was going much slower than they had expected. He was getting weary of it all, the fog, the slow pace they had been making for the last three days and the silence. Bryn had left the Nomad a couple of weeks ago. She had been a good companion, a friend and Sinbad had been sad to see her go for reasons he was only now beginning to fully understand. Bryn had been a replacement for Maeve. He had grieved for Maeve, more than he had openly shown, he had missed her from the day she had been swept from his ship. And then there had been Bryn. Taking her place in the crew, being a friend. But more than once he had looked at her and wished things had not come this way. More than once. And now that Bryn was gone, the gap was back. And it hurt again.

Sinbad tore his gaze off the distance he had been staring into and turned around to walk back to the tiller.

"We will need to ration water if this mist does not vanish with the morning." He told Firouz who stepped aside again to let the captain take over again. "We should have brought more right away."

"We should have." Firouz agreed, but not adding more.

Sinbad pondered. If his calculations were correct, and he thought that over the years as a sailor his inner maps had become rather accurate, they were not far off a group of islands, and not too far off Baghdad for that manner. If they kept the direction they were going, they should have those islands to their right the next day, even going at the pace they were right now. "Let´s not worry about it." He therefore said, giving Firouz a crooked smile. "No fog lasts forever."

And again the ship was silent, wearing down on him more than the fog itself.

It had been just a guess but it turned out true. The next morning after just a few hours of drowsy sleep, the sun broke through the mist, reflecting through it dimly at first and later making it vanish just as if it was snow withering in the warmth. They were all relieved, even more so since with the mist leaving, a good breeze returned, filling the Nomad´s sails again and taking her faster across the waves. However, something in the back of his mind told Sinbad that it was too early to be cheerful. The day looked perfectly fine, just a few clouds and with the pace they were making now it should be too far, but something was at odds. He kept looking out for the groups of islands he had been thinking about earlier, but they never appeared. Not in the morning and when the sun was starting to set again there was still not a single bit of them to see, not even against the horizon. It was impossible, their compasses were working as they always did but if Sinbad had not known better he would have said that they were lost. More than they had been in the fog.

"What are you thinking about little brother?" Doubar had a good intention when it came to Sinbad. He sat down next to the younger man who was standing at the reiling, a leg propped against the banister, looking out thoughtfully into the distance. "Nothing special." Sinbad replied. "Just that all of this seems… unfamiliar." For someone who had never sailed the seas this would have been a strange thing to say, for a merchant or someone who did not know the oceans every wave would have looked the same. But Doubar understood. "I have been wondering the same." he said. "Do you think we have lost our track?" "If we have I can´t explain it." Sinbad said with a small sigh. "We stuck to our course, but I get the feeling we are somewhere else entirely. We should have passed a row of islands by now and I do not believe they simply vanished."

The sun set without any sight of the islands and Sinbad being more tired than ever. He had not slept the night before, a strange sort of restlessness that he connected to the mist for some reason keeping him awake and making him careful. It was already past midnight judging to the course of the stars when Doubar insisted on him to retire and find some sleep. And strangele, even though he was still feeling restless and the thought that they might be lost somewhere in unknown waters was unsettling, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

_With sleep came dreams, dreams of a strange sort, manifestations of his hidden fears. Shapes in the mist approaching him, creeping up the planks of the Nomad where he was standing, unable to move or speak. Mist running up the masts, seeming to enchant the sails, making the sway as the mist wanted them to sway, straying from their paths. __Sinbad, dreaming, could do nothing but watch, standing there on his eerily silent ship with noone else in sight in this dream. Alone. The mist crept closer, starting to curl around his ankles with him being unable to fight it or get away. He didn´t even feel anything, it was just a strange and unsettling thing to happen. And then the mist gained shape. Became more solid. Formed a female body. _

"_Maeve?!" His voice sounded strange to his own ears, distant in a way, but it bore every bit of disbelief that could be expected from someone who had been missing another person for two years now and believed to have found her, not realising this was not real, just a dream. The mist fell from her like a cloak, leaving her solid, looking as he knew her, as he had last seen her. She had not changed. Her hair was the same flaming red, her eyes looked just the way he remembered them. Her clothing was different, for she was robed in black, a long, wide gown cloaking her silhouette and part of her hair hidden under a wide hood. "Where have you been, Maeve?" he asked, still disbelieving. She just watched him before doing a step closer and touching his cheek with a hand. An unreal, loving caress, one of the like they had never exchanged back then. "It doesn´t matter." she told him. "Will you come and find me?" Her voice was calm and without fear or any other hint of emotion. "Find you? But I have found you." He gave back, confused. She replied with a smile before she vanished and Sinbad woke again, finding he had been dreaming._

It was a dream that lingered, long after he had gotten back to work that day, seeing to the ship, giving orders to the crew. His restlessness was gone, replaced by something that was almost worse. The feeling that he had to do something, that he had to get somewhere and he caught himself thinking that he was no longer worrying about the strange unknown waters they were sailing. It didn't matter any more now that he was more curious where they were than why they were here. Deep inside, Sinbad had the feeling there would be a solution to the riddle soon, so he abandoned worrying for later. The mists had retreated completely now, not coming back or at least, not for human eyes. They were still there however, guiding them, leading the Nomad on an unseen path so subtly that even their captain did not notice their sails were straying from the path it was set. The mists were gone, but there was a presense watching them unseen. The shape of a woman, sitting near the tiller whenever Sinbad was guarding the ship, watching him with a smile that bordered on cruelty. He never saw her, noone did, but she was there. Waiting. Watching the Nomad sail where she wanted her to sail.


	2. Enchanted

**Author´s note:**

_Thanks to Ila88 and tink32542 for reviewing. Hope you´ll keep reading and have some fun with this little story. :-) Updating really quickly this time since I had an evening off and found some time for writing. Hope you enjoy. Drop a line ;-)_

**Chapter 2**

**Enchanted**

The day after, when the sun had just started to rise, there was land in sight. Sinbad had given up hope by now that it was any place he knew and indeed when they sailed closer, the island they were approaching proved unknown to him. It looked friendly enough with a wide beach leading inwards in a broad slope, and further inland most of the small isle it seemed was covered with grassy hills of a deep green and forests reaching up to the cliffs at some points. With the mist that had preceeded their way here, Sinbad would usually have been wary of his surroundings and maybe he would not even have approached the island, but his crew was in dire need of drinking water and even though he and the others knew that looks could be deceiving, he gave order to turn the Nomad towards the shores.

"We won´t be staying for long." he told Doubar who seemed to share his doubts about the land they were approaching. We go find some water and by nightfall we will be off again."

Most of the crew remained on board when they tossed the anchor near the shores, Sinbad, Firouz, Rongar and Doubar were the only ones to leave the ship. Sinbad´s waryness had not retreated, but the surroundings seemed to pull quite an effort to make him forget about it. Even the most careful person would have had to admit that there wasn´t really anything threatening about the island. They decided to split up in search of water, Doubar and Rongar walking south across the hills while Firouz and Sinbad started to make their way through the forests. It was likely they would get to some sort of stream sooner or later and after some walking the last bits of anxiety had fallen off him, just as the mist had let go of the Nomad nights before.

"I still wonder how we got to this place and where exactly we are." Firouz pondered. "You´re quite sure you don´t know?"

"No." Sinbad agreed. "All I know is that I´ve never been here before. Well, maybe we´ll have some luck after all and that strange mist was just some magic trickery with no danger behind it. Looks like it, doesn't it?" he added, looking over the shoulder back at the other man who was following him in a slow trod. "It does." Firouz admitted, scowling slightly. It wasn´t much like Sinbad to let down his guard like this and he was starting to wonder whether this was due to the fact that the captain had had little sleep the last couple of nights. A question about just that was on the tip of his tongue, but he stifled it for now.

As they trod on, silence fell between them and Sinbad, even though he was watching the area around him carefully, was starting to get lost in his own thoughts, realising only then that there was something that had been weighing on his mind the whole morning. ´_Will you come and find me_?´ Maeve´s voice seemed to still echo in his head, painfully letting him realise how much he still missed her, even after two years, just as if that dream had reminded him of an old wound that had never fully healed. ´_Will you come and find me?´_ He knew he would. Would go to the end of the world for her if that meant finding her again? ´_Is that true?_´ In thought he answered this question with a yes. Of course he would. ´_That´s good then_.´ He stopped in his tracks, blinking. Firouz could stop in time not to bump into him. "Sinbad? You all right?" he asked, slight worry in his voice and Sinbad thought he could see the other man´s frown without even turning around. He blinked again. Had he just heard a voice in his mind? He shook his head as if to shake something off that was confusing him. The correct question would have been: Had he just heard _her_ voice in his head?´ "I´m all right." He replied, his own voice sounding slightly distant. "I just … got startled." He blinked once more, deep inside knowing that there had indeed been a voice in his head, but looking around and back into the forest, his hand straying towards his saber. "I´m not sure we are alone." he said, his voice low. "I heard something." Turning slightly to look at Firouz he could clearly tell that the other man was bewildered, obviously not having heard anything. "Well… I didn´t. What do you mean?" Sinbad gave no reply, but walked on, slightly confused. It was unusual for him to have lack of sleep catch up on him like that. Was it indeed this dream about Maeve that was unsettling him so much? He couldn´t tell and decided it was for the best to no longer think about it. He knew she was gone and thinking about her wouldn´t help at all. He had experienced that to a painful extent over the last two years. ´_Yes, I know. This is why you must come and find me. Find me, you are almost there, Sinbad.´_ This time his head jerked around when he heard the voice again, making Firouz give a slightly irritated sound. "By the Gods, what´s wrong with you Sinbad? You´ve been on edge the whole morning." Sinbad gave the other man a look that bordered on a glare, an undeserved reproach the other man answered with a deepening frown. "I don´t know." Sinbad then said, noticing that he was being unnecessarily harsh. "It´s just… a feeling. Something isn´t right here."

"I don´t feel anything." Firouz said, however glancing around more cautiously now. "Do you think we should get back to the ship?"

"No." Sinbad said. "Not yet. We need water."

It was an excuse, the attempt to escape his own confusion and Sinbad himself knew that better than his friend. "You look restless, captain," Firouz remarked. "Remind me to take over your watch tonight or I´ll make Doubar insist on it." His friend´s tone was half joking but Sinbad could tell that actually his friend was being rather serious. "Firouz." he said, his voice drawling slightly "I´m fine, so get off it."

´_So you are, and you will be. Even more. Soon. Find me.´_ He didn´t even react to the voice now and was on the verge of turning another direction just in the childish attempt to get away from it, even though the voice – obviously Maeve´s or at least that was what his mind made of it – in his head was not connected to a place. But in fact, it was starting to drive him insane. He strode ahead a few more paces, his gaze ahead stubbornly, when all of a sudden he saw a figure ahead among the trees. He couldn´t make out any details, just that it was a tall figure and, according to shape, female. Robed in black. And when the figure walked, he believed to see, no, he was certain to see the flash of red hair peek from underneath the black hood. At once, all doubts vanished. "Maeve!" He was not himself any more in a way when he dashed forwards, towards the female in black who was walking away from him, but not too fast. He could reach her. "Sinbad!" Firouz behind him picked up pace to follow the captain, confusion in his voice more obvious than ever. "Sinbad, what do you think you are doing?"

He didn´t heed him, didn´t listen, just ran. He was certain. It was her. He gave all he had, gaining more speed as he ran, ignoring when a thin branch flipped back to snatch into his face, leaving a thin trace of blood on his cheek. She halted, just a few steps ahead and stepped out on a clearing, facing away from him. He reached her slightly breathless, his heart beating insanely. He was sure it was her and all he wanted was run towards her and embrace her, hold her tight now that he had finally found her.

"Well, well." The woman in black said, turning around and his heart sank, leaving nothing but a feeling of greatest confusion and anger when he looked into a rather pale face, framed by raven black hair. "Fascinating how some mist and sweet talking can enchant a foolish sailor, isn´t it?" Rumina.


	3. Ensnarer s tool

**Author´s note:**

**Space Case 7029:**Thanks :-) Good to see you like it. Well, we will see about the invisible woman though… mwahaha

**Ila88:** Pretty soon, as in now. :-) I already have some chapters in my head which beg to be written down so enjoy the quick updates as long as they last ;-)

**Chapter 3**

**Ensnarer´s tool**

For a very short moment, Sinbad was thunderstuck, frozen in disbelief, before his reason set in again, like a veil being lifted from his eyes, realising the cruel reality that it was not Maeve, his Maeve, he had missed, no, he missed so much, standing in front of him, but the cold hearted, dark-haired sorceress who had crossed paths with him several times already with none of those encounters leaving nice memories. Usually, Sinbad was rather quick witted, even Rumina he seldomly left without a smart sounding retort, but this time it was different, since anger was the most dominant and probably the only emotion he was capable of right now. His hand straying towards his sabre his face became tense, his eyes narrowing and flashing in anger when he gritted his teeth. "You." he nearly spat.

She answered his address with a cold, yet cruelly amused little laugh. "Really Sinbad, after such a long time I would have hoped for you to show a little more joy when seeing me."

He felt his anger flare, finding it difficult to keep his fury and frustration at bay in her presence, now that he knew that Rumina had deceived him. She probably knew, but Sinbad only now noticed how disappointed and frustrated he felt: the dream he had had, had just been a dream, but something inside him had… hoped. Same as when he had heard that voice – Rumina´s voice, he corrected himself – call for him. A tiny, irresponsible part of him had hoped that he just had to turn another corner and Maeve would for some reason be there, end up by his side, in his arms. Seeing it had all been a trick and most likely even a trap, was almost more than he could bear. Firouz was still beside him and Sinbad didn´t have to look at the other man to be able to tell that his friend was feeling something similar … minus the feelings he had for Maeve that was.

"Were you feeling bored again Rumina?" he asked, just in time managing not to have his voice turn into a snap. "Or what is it this time?"

Another laugh was the reply, just as mocking as the one before. "Who says I need a reason to say hello to an old friend?" she asked coily. "Not that I´d really consider you… well… a friend, but I like to have you around now and then as you should be aware of by now." Sinbad took a deep breath, partly to calm himself and while doing so, the grip around the hilt of his sabre tightened for a little. "You will have to look for another toy to fool around with, Rumina." he managed to say. "because you should be aware by now…" he imitated her choice of words "…that I am not the toy for you."

The whole matter was confusing though. He usually did not run after something so easily, not since her cover up had so quickly turned out an illusion. He was getting angry with himself for not paying more attention and even though he had seen several times already that Rumina was a rather able sorceress, the proud part of him insisted that he should have been able to look through her disguise. I should have known, he told himself.

"There, there." Rumina said, doing a step towards him. "Don't tell me you´ll end this already and walk back to your little ship to sail off with your pathetic group of friends. That really would have been all of my efforts gone to waste. Would be kind of a pity after I so skilfully managed to lure you here, wouldn´t it?"

"So that was you with the mist?" Firouz exclaimed, wording Sinbad´s thoughts before the captain could, leaving Sinbad somewhat astonished since his friend usually was not too fond of accepting that there were things his sciences could not explain, magic being one of them. Rumina gave him a short but brazen look that told him clearly she was neither interested in his opinion nor intending to pick up on it.

"Oh Sinbad." she said, stepping even closer, so close that she was just a step away from him, her gown nearly touching his arm when she raised a pale hand to cup his chin in what seemed like the mockery of an affectionate gesture to him. "Indeed it would be a pity to let you go again just when you so easily obeyed and came here. It has never been that easy with you." She gave a little sigh that sounded just as mocking concern as her gesture has been mocking affection. "I am almost disappointed. And then again, you not coming here would have taken away so much of my … fun." She turned away from him, tossing him a cruel smile when she walked a little further to the clearing, morphing her features to that of Maeve for a moment before reassuming her own shape.

Sinbad´s jaw tightened a little more. "Too bad you´ll grieve our parting." he said. "especially after putting up such enormous efforts with the mist and the dream and all of this to get me here." The bitterness about once more not having found Maeve was getting him into a mood where he felt that letting off some steam in the form of aggression was just the right thing to do. Maybe that would have been best anyways, part of him thought, to finally end her following him and teasing him and her little unsuccessful attempts to manipulate him. But something held him back when he turned around to walk away, and it was not just the laughter that Rumina sent after him and Firouz who seemed just as eager to follow the captain´s orders and leave the sorceress just standing there. "You always make the same mistake, Sinbad." she said. "You underestimate me. And … even after those years of our… how to call it … acquaintance, you have never understood just a little of me. Because this time Sinbad, I did not want you."

He was not interested in her intentions, had never really been as long as it affected neither his plans nor the safety of his crew or people he cared for. He halted in his step. "Not that it really changes anything," he said, his voice still tense, but trying already to shake off anger, just to not give her that satisfaction. "But you are just dieing to know, aren´t you?" Rumina finished with a drawl, putting particular stress on the verb. "It is revenge, Sinbad."

Now, much to his annoyance, she had his attention. At least for a moment. He raised his brow at her. "Revenge?" he asked cockily. "because I denied you?"

"because I feel like it." she corrected, her smile vanishing. "and because noone has the right to deny me if I want otherwise."

She used the moment now that he was not moving to vanish on the spot and reappear just in front of him. "So many times you denied me." she said, her eyes now flaring in the fury so typical for her. "so many times you put me down. You don´t even deserve me." An ´And still, you want me´ with a matching smirk begged to come with that, but Sinbad fought it back. "There is something I would like to give you, Sinbad." Rumina snarled, something materialising in her hand. It was a necklace, a simple chain and a pendant that was formed like a capsule, shaped in the likeness of a drop or tear.

"I must admit." ahe said. "you have always been rather headstrong, Sinbad. And getting you here, acting against your reason as a sailor, chasing after a shade in a forest like a blind fool would have been beyond me. I have to admit your … mind is too strong, free will resists black magic at times. Most unfortunately. But… very fortunately, I was not alone in that task."

She seemed eager to tell him a lot at once and Sinbad very much felt like just stepping away which he did. Or rather, attempted. She pointed her hand at him and he could see the tips of her fingers begin to sparkle in a reddish light. "You. Did not let me finish. Such courtesy." she hissed.

"You had help. so…" he said, becoming impatient and annoyed. "do tell me then how you managed this great trick and then for your own good Rumina, never cross my way again. And also, never again make me dream of you in that form." They both knew he was referring to the dream he had had about Maeve. Or what he thought had been Maeve. To his utmost irritation, his remark seemed to bear some amusement to her, because she chuckled at that. "I´d love to be in your dreams, Sinbad, but I am afraid I can not take that credit. Actually, you will be quite surprised." And her smile became more wicked, more cruel than he had ever seen it.

"I just wanted my revenge this time, Sinbad. And that I will get, to the last drop. It wasn´t me in that dream. It wasn´t me leading you here, because only a pathetic feeling such as … love could work as a strong enough magnet. And I wanted you here, to see your eyes when you realise…" Her gaze strayed, leaving his eyes and going past them, across his shoulder.

"Well…" she said, smiling evilly. "meet my obedient assistant." The necklace he had not taken from her, so it was still dangling from her pale hand significantly. He forgot about it, when he turned to follow her gaze. And his world seemed to stop turning. Because now something told him with striking, brutal certainty, looks were not deceiving him again. "Maeve." he whispered, beholding the lean red-haired female figure behind him, looking at him with a strangely vacant look in her eyes that seemed totally alien to her and everything that Sinbad had known about her.


	4. Watching you despair

Chapter 4

**Author´s note:**

Thinking about the backgrounds of why in the world Rumina managed to have Maeve do her bidding and lure SInbad to the island (and yes, it is definitely Maeve I can tell you), I just spun a little background story. This background story will be pieced together throughout the story, so it´s kind of a riddle at the beginning now with many unknown questions after you have read this chapter probably, but never worry, you will get to know more and more by and by, it all has its own logic I can assure you. :-) You will see eventually.

_Also, thanks to my dear reviewers._

**TiaKisu:** Nice to have another new reviewer :-) Well, she really did manage to get Maeve. She had help though, she wouldn´t have managed on her own. You´ll see how she did it once the story continues for it´ll be revealed bit by bit ;-)

**Space-Case7029:** I bet Sinbad hates that, too. It´ll be some hard work for him to set things right again that´s about as much as I can say for now. Good to hear you like the story :-)

**Chapter 4**

**Watching you despair**

Sinbad had often tried to imagine this moment, by Allah, he had so often tried to picture it, that moment he had been doubtful yet hoping would happen rather sooner than later, when he would see her again. He had never said so aloud and among the crew talking about Maeve had strangely become some sort of a taboo as if his friends and comrades had understood it was too painful a topic for the captain. He had changed after she had gone, had grown more desperate and surely lost some of the boyishness he at least believed Maeve had felt attracted to, becoming a more serious man, one who fought more aggressively and laughed less often. He had changed in some ways and not always for the better. But what had not changed were his feelings, the longing he felt for her and in his dreams or when staring into the distance he had often tried to think of the moment when he saw her again. In some of his versions they would just stand and look at each other, taking in every detail before they approached each other and hugged, but in most versions of it, they would start kissing, trying to make up for the time they had lost. In each and every one of those scenarios however, she had been overjoyed to see him, laughing, her eyes beaming. So Sinbad was not prepared for the blank and slightly questioning look Maeve gave him right now. For a second he doubted it was her even though his intuition screamed at him that it was indeed the same red headed sorceress who had become a member of his crew all this time back. Her eyes, her hair, she looked just as he remembered her, yet something, the vacancy in her eyes, was strange and unfamiliar. Not like her.

"Is this what a hearty welcome back looks like for you, Sinbad?" Rumina said with a coy and wicked smile, her voice clearly telling how amused she was by what was happening. Maeve did not move but remained standing upright a few paces from Rumina, her eyes moving from the dark haired woman to the two sailors and back as if listening but not paying too much attention to what was said. She made no attempt to walk towards him, nothing in her behaviour showed that she even knew what was going on … or who they were.

Sinbad felt cold anger rise inside him, threatening to choke him. Not heeding Rumina´s snarky comment, he walked towards Maeve, gently taking her by the shoulder and moving his hand to touch her face to get her attention. Her eyes remained just as vacant, not recognizing. Behind him, Rumina chuckled. "You will not get through to her, Sinbad." she said.

He clenched his jaw. "What have you done to her?" he asked and only the fact that Maeve was there and he was terribly scared to harm her fragile state if he did anything violent around her kept him from pulling his sabre and attempting to behead Rumina there and then. Attacks against himself he could muster, but who touched his Maeve was doomed.

"Oh… this and that." Rumina gave back in a tone that would have made one think she was talking about the weather or something equally trivial. "She will be fine soon, Sinbad. Or rather, she will be almost fine… for a while. She is just a little dizzy from the enchantment that was woven around her."

He turned, giving her a look that might have killed her on the spot had he had any magical abilities. "You are not strong enough to enchant her like this." he growled. "If you were you would have done this earlier. Why wait so long?"

She studied her hand for a brief moment, letting red sparkles erupt from her finger tips playfully once more before sighing theatrically. "Who needs to conquer all aspects of magic if one has powerful friends?" she just asked in a manner that told him there had to be a longer story behind it that she chose not to unveil. Then she looked up again giving him her most cruel smile. "The enchantment will pass." Rumina then said. "other things… will not. Humans are just kind of … not themselves anymore once they lost their souls."

Sinbad had the feeling his blood was freezing. His emotions taking over he had his sabre by the hand in a second, rushing towards Rumina who escaped her death by turning into a raven a moment before he could press the blade against her neck. The bird fluttered away and landed a few paces ahead, reassuming Rumina´s shape. "I have become more powerful with some of my skills, you should keep that in mind for the future." she said as if nothing had happened but her features turning slightly annoyed for a moment.

"What did you do to her?" Sinbad´s voice was dangerously low now, anger in his eyes that was untypical for him, had become more typical for Sinbad in recent years though.

"I made a deal." Rumina drawled, sitting on a rock and crossing her legs elegantly. "The soul of the little peasant wench … traded for more power for me. Revenge was a nice side effect. I had her make you come here. As long as the enchantment that was woven over her…" and again she did not specify, not tell him who had woven the enchantment that made her so drowsy and willingless, that had made her appear in his dreams and lure him to this island. "… was still at work. I have power over her now Sinbad. I´ve had for some days." She laughed evilly. "You can not imagine how much fun it has been to see her obey me, draw you here, make Sinbad the legendary sailor who was foolish enough to deny me run into a trap like a lovesick fool, blinded by a stupid hope to reunite with the unable witch who was washed from his little ship." Again, she stepped closer. "But I would not have wanted to miss it. See the disbelief in your eyes when I gave her back to you… an empty shell." She was so close now that her face was just an arm length from his. "She does not know who you are, Sinbad." she whispered. "memories are enclosed in the soul and that soul is now in the hands of Hades, God of the Underworld...master of Death."

Terrible fury overcame him and this time she had no time to shapeshift and escape his grip. Sinbad´s hand grasped around her neck and for a moment Rumina´s composure slipped, fear flashing in her eyes. "Kill me…" she then said in a low voice with a smile creeping onto her face. "kill me and you will never get to know how to attempt and get her soul back." Instantly he loosened the grip a little even though the expression in his eyes did not change. He had no choice. He knew she would do everything to deceive him again, but he couldn´t care less. She had taken Maeve´s soul and there was nothing that mattered to him any more if she had succeeded thus and taken it forever.

"Then tell me if you do not want a death that would be most unsuitable for a woman!" he hissed through clenched teeth. Firouz was standing transfixed all the time, unable to react, too shocked from what was going on.

"Her soul…" Rumina said. "…is the property of Hades now." She spoke the name showing she clearly enjoyed things that way. "We had a deal, I made a promise and so did he, I gave him the peasant witch´s soul and I got my revenge and more. And Sinbad, seeing you suffer over what happened to the girl is the best I have seen in a long, long while. Revenge for all you did to me."

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked, his face a mask of fury.

"Because I know" she said "that foolish as you are and always will be once I tell you there is a way to Hades´ realm, you will rush off and, against all odds try and reclaim her soul. You will suffer, you will fight but Sinbad, but…" her smile became pure evil. "all will be in vain. You will despair and it will be my pleasure to watch you and the witch go down."

He let go of her neck, giving her a push. "You wanted me." he spat. "and you don´t know me at all if you think I will give in to this and let things happen."

"See?" she gave back smirking. "of course you will not. You will run against walls Sinbad and I am looking forward to it. And then, when seven days and seven nights will have passed, Maeve will wither… wither and die. Even the soul of someone practicing …" and she spoke the next two words with disgust "…white magic can not survive outside the body for too long. Seven days and seven nights Sinbad for me to enjoy the show." She started to laugh and tossed him something that he snatched and identified as the necklace with the drop pendant she had shown to him before. "This will guide you" she said with a cruel smile. It was like tossing a stick to a boy to fend against a dozen of lions. "It is the Case that held her soul. It will show you the way to Hades. Which you, however, will never reach in time."

And while Sinbad was still standing there, she withdrew from him and turned. Before Rumina left, she looked to her right and another shape that none of them had heeded until now, a presence barely more than smoke but surrounded with an aura that told Sinbad and Firouz clearly the being was of god-like rank retreated from the shades of the trees and faded into the distance, going another way than Rumina did. Then Rumina was gone as was the shade and in the same moment, weariness dropped from Maeve. Sinbad could see her gaze turning from vacant dillusion to utter confusion before she dropped to the ground unconscious. He could just in time leap towards her to stop her fall. She felt so fragile in his arms.


	5. Unknown faces

**Author´s note:**

Another update pretty quickly. I seriously can´t promise you guys to update with such speed regularly, but this week was an okay week work wise and there are a whole bunch of ideas bugging me to be written down, so here´s another chapter for you guys. :-)

Oh, also, I forgot to say before. Please don´t be too harsh about language mistakes. I´m no native speaker of English.

**Ila88:**Nice to see you´re having fun with my little story :-D Well, it´ll definitely get hard for him to deal with things and you´ll know everything in due time ;-) Btw, I need to comment on your Sinbad fic you posted here. I really hope you continue soon because it´s awesome!

**Space-Case7029:** Hehe, seems that´s a cliffhanger that worked then. :-D

Yep, good guess of course, the story´d be kind of over if he didn´t after all. ;-)

**Chapter 5**

**Unknown faces**

„You should go and get some sleep, little brother."

Doubar´s voice sounded worried when he placed a large hand on the younger man´s shoulder. Sinbad didn´t even turn and look at him. He was sitting in one of the cabins on board of the Nomad on a wooden stool he had pulled towards the bed. It was the cabin Maeve had used when she had still sailed with them, so when he and Firouz had returned to the ship, it had been the first place he had gone. He had barely looked to his left and right, not heeded the surprised looks, the urgent questions from the crew when he returned carrying the red haired sorceress in his arms, his face stern. Rumina had not shown up again, but Sinbad was glad for that because right now Rumina was the last person on his mind.

"No." he replied a little belatedly. "I´m not tired."

"Yes, you are." Doubar insisted. "You know that yourself. You really should rest. She´s in good hands."

Now he did turn to face the other man. "So you want me to go and risk she wakes up in the meantime?" There was more he wanted to say, that he was unwilling to leave her side, that the fact that she was there again and the circumstances of her return had shaken his emotions more than anything. Sinbad never said that aloud but he would guard her no matter what. And his brother knew. After a moment, Doubar nodded. "Aye." he said. "I will take over the tiller. Firouz could need a nap, too." And with that he left the cabin after giving Sinbad another encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.

Sinbad remained alone and quickly found himself sinking into thoughtfulness again. Propping his hands on his knees he leant forward, watching her, his brow in a worried frown. It had been about three hours since they had returned to the ship – without any drinking water of course – and Maeve had not woken since then, only stirred in her sleep once in a while. She had flinched in her sleep twice of three times as if she was having nightmares or a fever, but when Sinbad had touched her forehead he had found it was not unusually warm. Rather unusually cold. He silently wondered whether that was how the skin of a person who had lost her soul felt like and quickly banned the thought from his mind again. He watched her silently in her troubled and yet strangely calm sleep, her face serious and without even the hint of a smile. She was still wearing the same clothes, the same black robes even though he had the impression they did not fit her at all. Not her shape, but her personality as he remembered it seemed totally unfit for this colour … for what the gown symbolised. _My obedient servant…_ When he remembered those words he could feel the cold feeling of hatred rise inside him again and his hands balled to fists slightly.

Again Maeve stirred in her sleep and gave a slight groan, her brow furrowing a little more, one of her hands moving restlessly as if she was troubled in her sleep and about to wake up. Even though he was by now sure she had no fever, her forehead showed a thin layer of sweat so that when she started to move, Sinbad took a piece of cloth that had been soaked in some water and was in a bucket near his feet. He wrung the cloth and gently placed it on her forehead, wiping the sweat away, affection obvious in this gesture. It was a moment that usually bore the likeliness of the crew picking on him or her for being so affectionate around each other which had usually resulted in a glare from either his or her side. This however, was a different situation. His crew would not have laughed this time, they were all worried for Maeve, and Sinbad would not have cared for any reaction in the world right now. "Maeve?" he addressed her in a low voice when her eyelids fluttered again.

Her eyes opened slowly, looking just as he reminded them, warm, brown eyes. He had tried to imagine what it would be like when she woke up, had tried to be prepared for it, but still Sinbad felt a sharp sting in his heart when she looked at him – looked at him like a stranger. There was no recognition. None at all. Just weariness. And then, confusion.

"Where am I?" she asked, trying to sit up.

"Y..you´re on my ship." Sinbad found his tongue hardly obeyed him, making him stutter. She had known this cabin, this ship. It was strange to hear her ask such things. He reached for her with a hand and touched her shoulder, trying to make her lie again so she would not overtax herself. He had no idea after all, how irritated or confused she was. An empty shell… The memory of these words was the worst mockery of all. Still, quite to his relief he found her eyes were not as vacant as they had been back in the forest. They clearly showed, however, that she had no idea where she was. Or… who he was.

"Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at the question and sitting up halfway, her hand attempting to brush off his hand. He withdrew it, surpressing a sigh, his heart hurting again. He gave her a long look, desperately trying to find a sign in her eyes, any sign that she realised her question to be redundant because she knew him. But this realisation never came.

"My name… is Sinbad." he said after a moment, feeling empty at those words. He had told her his name once, all this time back, lying on his back, his hands raised in defence to avoid another attack of her hawk. This situation was far more strange.

"I am the captain of this ship. I brought you here. You are safe." He was repeating himself and also he had added the last sentence to her reassurance from instinct even though there was no fear in her expression.

"Why am I on a ship?" she asked, her voice utter confusion. "I…was somewhere else. There was someone else. Not you." Now she withdrew from him a little and sat up for reals, even scrambling away from him a little and watching him from mistrusting eyes. "You were not there. I do not know you."

You once did, he thought sadly, but didn´t say so.

"You are here now." he told her instead as if he was talking to a child who did not understand a too complex thought.

Maeve did did not reply to his words, just gave him a wary look, got up from the bed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, almost hugging herself as she looked around the cabin, wary even to the slight creaking of the planks above. Maeve had never been that insecure on board the Nomad. And in this moment, Sinbad understood a little more of what Rumina had meant with Maeve being ´an empty shell´. She was conscious, she was aware, but all her memories, every tiny bit of it, all the memories of their friendship and affection were gone. This was not Maeve as he knew her, this was the woman she had become after her soul had been taken from her. Emotions were always connected to memories. Without emotions there could be no soul. But Sinbad was still grasping that thought, trying to understand, yet failing.

"Please…Don´t be afraid." Sinbad told her, getting up as well and slowly doing a step towards her. She gave him an odd look and did a step backwards, eyeing him in a manner similar to a deer that meets its hunter. It was that look that made him falter and he halted, trying to fight the despair that was wailing up inside him. "I do not know you." she repeated once more sending waves of sadness through him. "I do not know how I came here. Where I… where I came from. What happened?" The question ´Who am I?´ was obvious in her words.

"You are save here. Noone will harm you Maeve, don´t be afraid." Again, his words were calming or at least he was attempting for them to have that effect. "Maeve…" she said, her voice trailing off a little, mistrust in her eyes but paired with a hint of curiosity. "Is that my name?"

Sinbad stood thunderstuck. She had forgotten everything. ´An empty shell…´ He could almost hear Rumina´s evil laughter ring in his ears. All he could do was nod and he did another step towards her. Not all in her eyes was confusion, there were hints of curiosity, of what seemed similar to the Maeve he had known and a spark of wild hope was kindled inside him that this would be the straw he could pull her up by. Get through to her.

She retreated from him again, more abruptly this time, backing against a wooden chest and reminding him of a trapped animal, her eyes changing again and the expression they showed being one of utter confusion. "How can you know?" she asked, her voice barely above whisper. He stepped closer, wanting to embrace her, to assure her he was there, that everything would be fine, that he was there for her and had treasured all her memories she had about him, the crew, the Nomad for her. But she did not let him come close enough before trying to back away even further. "How can you know something I do not know myself?" she asked, her eyes growing wild.

"Maeve, you are going to be okay…" he managed to say even though he had to fight the feeling of being choked. She did not let him come any closer and bolted when he did, ripping open the door, fleeing from him and dashing onto the deck. She stumbled, fell on the few steps that led up onto the blanks, she caught herself and with flying steps ran on like someone nearly out of their mind with fear.

Sinbad knew it was probably not the wisest thing to do, but all he could think of was that they had set sail again an hour ago and were thus on the open sea. And Maeve having lost her memories might have forgotten also how to swim. It made little sense to him to think that way right now but he didn´t think any further. "Maeve!" he called out to her, following her onto the deck with quick steps. She tossed him a glance across the shoulder, one that bore confusion all over, stumbled again and was only kept from falling by Rongar who was standing close by and quick enough to grab her arm. She shook it off just as she had avoided Sinbad´s touch earlier giving him a fearful, wide-eyed look and dashed on, reaching the railing at the ship´s rear before Sinbad could reach her. The island they had left had vanished to a little spot in the distance, but she seemed to have seen it and something inside her, not unlikely that Rumina had her say in that, realised this to be the place she had come from. With a desperate outcry she flung herself out at the open see, flying fingers grabbing the reiling.

"No!"

She fought his grip like a wild cat when Sinbad grabbed her around the waist and held her back, his heart hammering desperately and strangely matching the beat of hers that beat in just the same frenzy. "No. Maeve! Don´t."

She didn´t reply, just screamed. It was a scream full of fear and confusion and despair. The scream of someone who had lost everything, everything she had known. Who remembered nothing but the fact that she had come from another place that she was being taken away from now. And that little shred of knowledge made her scream. Pressing her to him, Sinbad felt his heart drop and hurt when she started to sob, still fighting, her struggle only weakening after a few long moments. She would have jumped and likely drowned in the attempt to get back to the island, he knew, trying to get back to the only place in this world that seemed remotely familiar. Her scream turned into desperate, shallow sobs, her fists that had been hammering against his shoulders and chest unclenched and clenched again, grabbing him by his clothes. She was shaking all over, her body heaving under her weeping as she clung to him. Maeve had run from him and it was not comfort, it was fear that held her in his arms now, it were his own arms holding her that kept her from running and drowning. His legs gave way at that realisation and he sank to the ground cradling her in her arms and hugging her tightly, fighting back his own sobs that were threatening to come up.

His crew stood in silence, bewildered, touched, scared by what they saw. No one even made a sound.


	6. Watching you

Chapter 5

**Author´s note:**

Thanks for all those nice reviews again :-D Took a little longer to update this time which is because I had a whole lot of work to do over the weekend, bleh. But here you go, another chapter for you. :-)

**Ila 88:**I was trying to create a powerful scene there, nice to hear you liked the way it turned out. I thought this to be about the most awful thing that can happen to Sinbad in her presence and tried to capture that.

Aw, I know how that is about being busy :-/ So many stories I´d love to continue but don´t always find the time for sigh Well, I´ll definitely stay tuned about yours :-)

**TiaKisu****: **Well, a story without hope would be terribly sad now wouldn´t it? ;-) He will get his hope moments even though I´m not yet telling what those will look like. :-)

**Stitch****: **Whee, another new reviewer! :-D Great to see you like reading the story. Yep, it was kind of a painful thing to write, poor Sinbad.

**Chapter 6**

**Watching you**

It had taken a long time until Maeve had finally calmed down. Not because she had seen it was a hopeless thing to try and swim back to the island that had slowly vanished from view, but because at some point, she had been too tired to fight on. Her sobs had subsided while Sinbad had still held her, trembling and trying to fight it back without success. He had then carried her back to her cabin and she had not even met his eyes, her gaze into the distance looking lost and confused. He hadn´t been sure if she still feared him, at least – and by Allah he was glad for it – she had not given him another one of those scared looks when he had placed her down on the bed. Maeve had immediately curled up, facing away from him and he had turned to leave the cabin then, unable to bear it. She had not seen his lips pressed together in anger when he had returned to the deck. No anger against her, but anger against Rumina. She had been trying to manipulate him, to tease him, to cast her spells on him and he had always managed to get out. He had never denied the fact that she was evil, but there had at least been a tiny part of him understanding that she was seeking revenge for her father. Now, however, she had crossed a line. There was and never would be an excuse to what she had done to Maeve. She had ended this endless game of cat and mouse herself by enchanting Maeve and thus turning her favourite prey against herself.

Sinbad had the feeling that even the fresh ocean breeze did not have enough oxigen to satisfy his need for air. His heart still beating uneasily painful, he walked over to the railing, furthest away from the tiller where Doubar had taken over duty and where, as he could see, Firouz and Rongar were leaning against the side of the ship, looking up when their captain returned from the cabin. He could see worry in their eyes but felt he needed time to think and to at least try and get his head cleared a little, therefore he ignored their looks and turned away, facing towards the sea. He had the feeling there was a throbbing pain somewhere between his eyes and he raised a hand, trying to massage it away, closing his eyes as he did so. He let out a sigh and took a few long moments to calm down. It only worked to some extent, the image of Maeve down in the cabin, lost to her memories, fearing him and running from him, screaming and nearly drowning too clear in his mind to be erased. Trying to find at least some distraction from his sinister thoughts, he mentally returned to the daily routine as a sailor, trying to fall back into his old and familiar thoughts about sails, ropes and planks. It didn´t work too well either, but at least his thoughts became a little easier to bear.

A flutter of wings and a silent bird shriek made him look to the side and he spotted Dermott who had landed on the railing two metres from him. The hawk had never left the crew and at times it had seemed to Sinbad as if the only reason he had stayed was a distant hope that Maeve might return one day. Sinbad turned his head and gave Dermott a sidewards glance, noticing the bird had something in his claws that he identified as the necklace Rumina had given to him. He must have lost it somewhere on the ship, most likely when he had followed Maeve out of the cabin and his heart skipped a beat when he realised what this could have led to. However this thing worked, Rumina had said it was the only way to the World of the Dead. Hades´ realm. Without it, he would not even have an idea where to turn. "He extended his hand to take the necklace and Dermott gave another silent shriek and tilted his head slightly giving the captain a look that at least Sinbad interpreted as reproachful. "Thank you, my friend." he said and thoughtfully brushed a finger through the hawk´s feathers. Dermott stayed which was kind of unusual since he usually was a little difficult around him. "You´ve got to help me with Maeve, little one." Sinbad said, having the feeling that he was more talking to himself than the bird. "You´ve got to help me get things right again, promise?" He somehow managed to crack a joyless smile and Dermott watched him attentively tilting his head a little more when he mentioned Maeve´s name. It was funny, Sinbad thought, sometimes it seemed Dermott understood every word. He smirked a little when at once he got the mental image of Maeve scolding him for something like this, insisting that of course Dermott did and most likely adding a not too flattering remark on his own wits … which he in return would have retorted with a mocking laugh or something of the sort. He sighed again. That seemed so much more real, so much more … normal than a Maeve looking at him like he was a threat. He held up the necklace and examined it. The pendant was black as if it consisted of some very smoothly polished kind of black stone. He turned it and looked at it closely, examining the thin chain after that looking for some hint, some sort of sign post that might guide him. Nothing. He looked again, more closely this time, but once more, without success. He felt helpless, for the first time in his life as a sailor unsure about where to sail. There were all directions in the world to choose from but only one was the one he had to sail. All others were meaningless, leading to no other road than Maeve´s death. Seven nights and seven days. He closed his fist, shutting the chain and pendant in.

He must have been standing there for quite a while, not noticing that evening set in and the sun was starting to go down. All he realised about the changing colours reflecting on the waves was what that meant: that the run had begun. The first night was about to start and minutes were now ticking away seemingly faster than the afternoon had passed. Sinbad was almost sure the crew was avoiding him, not sure how to act around him, or at least that went for most of them. Doubar was usually bold around his little brother but seemed to have decided it would be best to give him some space. The only one spending him some company was Dermott who came to sit and watch him for a moment now and then before he would flutter off again, maybe bored by Sinbad´s brooding.

At some point when dusk had set in already Dermott, who was sitting on the railing so close that Sinbad could absent mindedly ruffle the hawk´s feathers, fluttered off so suddenly that Sinbad instinctively raised a hand to protect his face from the bird´s slashing wings. He was about to give a silent curse but then he followed Dermott with his eyes and his words got stuck in his throat. Maeve was standing in the doorframe of her cabin, clad in the same black cloaks but one of her usual, brighter cloaks that she must have found in the chest in her cabin wrapped closely around her. He noticed with surprise and a beating heart that she had her eyes on him, curious, watchful eyes that bore no fear, but much to his dismay, slight mistrust. And again he stood transfixed, wishing there was anything he could make up his mind about to say. Something sensible. Something that would not set her running and screaming again. But the moment passed after the bat of an eyelid, letting him escape before things became awkward, because Dermott had seen her as well and fluttered towards her as soon as he had spotted and recognised her. But just as she had reacted so strangely around him, Maeve did not hold up her arm for the hawk to sit. Instead, she flinched slightly, stepping back a little and Dermott, bewildered and unsure what to do, landed on the blank a few steps away from her, looking up at the red haired woman who had been his companion once. To the day Sinbad had thought that birds could not really express emotions through their eyes, but now he learned it the hard way. Dermott looked lost sitting on the wooden ground, giving insecure calls that almost sounded affectionate.

"What´s wrong with the bird?" Maeve asked, her confused gaze straying from Dermott to Sinbad who was now leaning his back against the railing.

Sinbad opened his mouth and closed it again before he found words to say. The scene was so bewildering that he was at a loss of what to say.

"I… I think that means he likes you." he managed to say after a moment and Maeve´s expression lost a little bit of her confusion. Dermott gave up it seemed and fluttered away, finding a place somewhere up near the crows nest. Maeve followed him with her eyes, before she stepped out onto the deck completely.

Sinbad had wondered whether she would, judging from how scared she had been earlier, but she seemed to be pulling up a fight to conquer her fears – which, as he noticed with some affection, was just what Maeve as he knew her would have done. His Maeve would not cower and despair and even without her memories and without everything she had ever felt connected to, the way she stepped outside now made him hope that she had at least not lost her typical spirit.

She gave him a wary look and walked towards the railing to look out onto the water, standing a few metres away from him, clearly indicating that he was to keep that distance she had established. At least she made no more attempts to jump and she seemed calm, but there was an eeryness about that calmness that made Sinbad uncomfortable. He noticed her watching him from the corners of her eyes.

"Where are you taking me?" she finally asked, her voice just as watchful as her gaze.

What should he reply to that? That they were looking for the Land of the Dead to retrieve her soul? And above all that he had no idea how to get there? That sounded like a bad idea. "There is a place I need to find." he therefore said cryptically.

"So?" she asked. "And how does that involve me?"

"You need to come with me." he said, noticing he was using simple ways of expressing himself just from the fear that he might scare her again. "Maybe you can help me find it." He added, just to find a way to maybe gain her benevolence.

"Why should I?" Maeve asked in return. "I do not even know you, you took me away from… from…" she seemed to lose track, her face showing confusion, just as if she didn´t remember where she had been before, but then she found her words again "…that island and now you want me to come with you? You didn´t even ask if I wanted to come."

He took a deep breath. "I know." he said. "But… you will just have to trust me on this." He bit his tongue before he could add her name to his reply, just in time remembering the distress that mention had caused the last time he had used it. Bit by bit, he thought bitterly.

To his surprise she did a step closer. "I know nobody here." she said, her voice calmer than he would have expected. "all the faces are see are unfamiliar. I … know nothing here. Why should I trust you?"

Because you once did, he thought. Because there was a time when you knew I would give my life if it meant saving yours. "Because I give you my word." he said, feeling choked.

She regarded him with a long look, as if she was trying to figure out how much exactly his word was worth and finally coming to the unsatisfying result that since she didn´t know where she was as only dimly remembered where she came from, she did not really have a choice.

"Hm…" she just said, that sounding somewhat mocking, but serious at the same time. "You better stand by your word then,…" She broke off as if she had wanted to add another word she didn´t remember and he knew what it was and aided her with a heavy heart.

"Sinbad." he said. "I´m Sinbad." He had told her before. Seemed she had still been too distressed to keep his name in mind. She nodded and gave him another watchful look, before she turned and walked to the other end of the ship, sitting down with her back leant against the side. He remained where he was, watching her sadly and as the silence of the night set in he could hear her start to hum a lonely tune.


	7. Phantoms

The oil lamp that hung over the table gave too little light

**Author´s note: **

It´s almost 2 a.m. but I felt I couldn´t go to bed without finishing this. :-P So here goes another chapter. Wow, you guys are really awesome reviewers. Please keep reviewing. All the nice stuff you write really makes my day :-)

**MagicalMoonStar:**Whoa, wait a sec, are you the same MagicalMoonStar who also has a youtube account? Because if so, part of the kudos for this story definitely also go to you since I watched your episodes you put up there and then looked for more. So, yeah, partly you who got me into the whole AoS fandom :-) Btw is there any hope you´ll continue uploading there. I was trying to download stuff from veoh but that somehow doesn´t work :-(

Anyways, nice to know you´re reading too :-)

**Stitch: **Hehe, I know what you mean, it´s the same for me. As much as I dislike seeing him like this, there´s a part of me that enjoys it (mwahahahaha) Yep, Dermott had to come into the whole thing sooner or later, definitely. :-) Aw, and thanks for the nice words. :-D

**Space-Case7029****:** Thanks :-)It was difficult to write yes, especially since the scene I have in mind is usually more expressive than what I manage to put down on paper, because my vocabulary fails me at timey :-P

**Ila 88:** Things definitely won´t be easy for them. Which is also why I´m trying to put a good amount of detail into the story. On the one hand this is what my style is like, on the ther it would seem unlikely and unrealistic if things went faster with her suddenly remembering stuff for whatever reasons and the like.

**Chapter 7**

**Phantoms**

The oil lamp that hung over the table gave too little light. During the last minutes, Sinbad had had to squint his eyes repeatedly, trying to make out details on the maps that lay spread in front of him – not that they had revealed any detail to him he had not seen or memorized by now. He knew those maps, most of them like the back of his hand and for the first time they were completely failing him. What had he expected, he wondered with a slight grudge against himself… had he really thought that there would be hints that lead them to the realm of Hades? It had been a fool´s hope and one he might have discarded right away knowing those maps anyways, but he had clung to it as a last resort and now that his fears had proven to be true he felt defeated. He gave the topmost map another long, almost reproachful look before he straightened up. "I do not think this will lead us anywhere." he said.

Doubar and Firouz who were sitting at the table where he had spread out the maps gave him looks that told him they were just as clueless as their captain. "Maybe we need to look into old lore." Firouz suggested. "See if we can find some old myths or legends and watch out if we can find any hints there. We could get to the next island and start our search there…"

"Seven nights and seven days, Firouz." Sinbad´s reply sounded a lot more harsh than he had intended – stress and concern were the reason and Firouz most likely understood, still it wasn´t an excuse to treat a friend badly.

Firouz had meant to add something, but fell silent.

"Maybe Firouz is right." Doubar insisted now. "We do not have too many choices, little brother. We do have to start somewhere."

"We do, yes." Sinbad gave back. "But we can not afford wasting time. There has to be a way, something about that necklace." He had told them about it earlier, hoping his friends had an idea about it. Another forsaken hope.

"What if that is just a trap?" Doubar asked. "A hoax to set you on the wrong trap?"

Sinbad had to admit the danger was there, but something told him it wasn´t like that. "Maybe it is." he therefore replied. "But I don´t think so. Rumina wants to see us suffer. She would not deny herself the show." And dwindling on the open see without a direction would not be too entertaining. He was sure that once they knew where to sail – if they ever found out that was – there would be dangers to face that would be far more… fun for Rumina to witness than what they were doomed to now: sailing with no direction which most likely meant that they were going the wrong way.

Again he took out the necklace and gave it a look but again the thing did not give him the slightest hint. "Have a look at it Firouz." he said, sliding the chain and pendant across the table where Firouz took it. "See if you can find out its secret." Firouz´ ideas and inventions surely were rather adventurous at times, but the captain had come to trust his friend in things like these – he had gotten them out of trouble with his little tricks a few times too often not to.

Firouz nodded and gave the necklace a look before he slipped it into the pocket of his vest and left the cabin. Sinbad could tell that his friend was glad he could leave and busy himself with something else, something that did not involve his captain being on edge about everything that was going on. Sinbad briefly closed his eyes before opening them again. He was worried and rightfully so. He knew that the crew shared this worry but they were giving him those looks, the looks that told him they were trying to be comforting, just as if they understood it was hardest for him. He approved of their care but at the same time wished for nothing more than being able to tell his men to stop it and just go and do their daily duties. That would have seemed normal. Everything normal suddenly had a strange attraction to it. Normal seemed that one´s little world was going in well ordered circles. His wasn´t right now.

"She calmed down a little?" Doubar asked before the silence between the brothers could turn into something awkward – again, something that usually never happened.

"Yes." he gave back. "yes she did."

"How is she coping?" was the next question.

Sinbad gave a sigh. "I don´t know." he said. "she seems… healthy. Her mind clear. But she remembers nothing. None of us. Not even…." Me. That was the hardest thing of all to bear "…Dermott."

Doubar raised a hand to give his little brother an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "I know it´s most difficult for you little brother." he said and in every other situation Sinbad would have contradicted, continuing his usual hide and seek about what he felt for Maeve. Now he didn´t.

"I missed her." he said after a moment without meeting the other man´s eyes, his gaze instead transfixed on a random group of islands somewhere near the Persian Sea on the map. "I miss her even more now." And indeed, having her back and at the same time not having her back was so hard to bear.

"I know, Sinbad. I know." Doubar said.

"Tell me we will find her soul." Sinbad said. It was a strange thing for him to say, something that he would not allow himself to say in front of anyone, usually not even in front of Doubar. His entire behaviour was usually the image of self assurance, never faltering, never losing hope and never showing a weakness. He had somehow even managed to suppress his grieve for Maeve ignoring the harm this had done to his own heart and soul. But now he felt he needed some reassurance that usually he himself dealt out so freely. He was at a loss of what to do and Maeve´s return and the circumstances of it all had shaken him to his very bones. In a way he felt like a small boy again who would lean against his brother for support.

"We will." Doubar replied and they both knew it was an automatic reply, an encouraging one but none that either of them was persuaded in. It wasn´t like Sinbad had given up, he never would, he would fight for her to the end if necessary, he knew he would, but being so helpless just drove him mad. He nodded and without another word left the cabin.

Maeve had not moved from her spot. He could see her silhouette stick out from the darkness, the hawk´s smaller shape close by her side. It seemed she was accepting Dermott close to her. Maybe a memory he briefly hoped and dismissed the hope. Most likely just the calming effect animals often had on a troubled spirit. He stepped closer to her, giving Maeve a half hearted smile and, fighting the urge to just sit down next to her, knowing that she needed space if he did not want to put her back into her earlier panic. So he sat opposite and across from her, his back against the side wall of the ship, his legs slightly drawn towards his body and his hands loosely draped over his knees in a way far more casual and at ease than he felt. He could see her toss him glances now and then but apart from that her attention was on Dermott, her fingers stroking the feathers on his chest absent mindedly.

"Are you hungry?" he asked after a moment unable to hold back. If he couldn´t do anything for her right now at least he had to make sure she was not going without food. "No." she told him, not looking up but her eyes fixed on the hawk. "Somebody brought me something already." She looked up and nodded over at Rongar who was leaning somewhere near the tiller. Another name she did not remember Sinbad noticed superfluously.

"Why do you behave around me like this?" she asked bluntly after a few more moments of silence.

"Like what?"

"Like… like… I don´t know. Whenever you are up here you sit near me and watch me and …and…. " It seemed to annoy her slightly as he could tell by the frown in her voice.

"Because I care." he replied before he had time to ponder about his answer.

She replied with half a chuckle half a snort.

"Care." she stated. "you don´t even know me. You behave like that around every new passenger on board your little vessel or is that just a rather clumsy way of trying to impress women?"

Sinbad opened and closed his mouth, taken aback by such a response for a moment before he reacted to her words sounding somewhat incredulous.

"No." he said and for her it had to sound somewhat insulted. "You are… you are on board of my ship, of course I do care." And you are such a stupid jerk Sinbad, he mentally scolded himself. Too deep in the habit of denying that you behave like this even now. But then again, another part of him reminded him, he could hardly act around her like he wanted. It would scare her most likely and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Good." she said, giving him a glare that for the first time reminded him of Maeve as he had known her. "Cause it´s not working." Her words were almost snappish and for a moment he was not sure whether to react with a cocky retort or a snort. Then he realised what he was doing, in what directions he was thinking. And he said nothing for a moment, his heart skipping a beat. Was it possible that there was a part of old Maeve still remaining in what Rumina had so brazenly called ´an empty shell´? She caught his gaze and gave him a look that instantly reminded him he was staring. "What?" she asked bluntly.

"Nothing." he gave back almost hastily. No, he thought. It made no sense. Her soul was captured, all of her memories gone. Which still didn´t mean that all of Maeve was gone. She was here, she was alive and breathing and in this moment he understood that even though she was without her soul, without all she had held dear and all the fond memories she…. might…. as he hoped…. hold for him, she still had her heart of course. Her attitude. Her snappishness. Which had always been one of the many things about her that had attracted him.

"Good." she replied crossing her arms looking away. "cause your staring is starting to annoy me, sailor."

He didn´t know a reply to it, just lowered his gaze.

"I can … go if you want me to." he finally said, not wanting to give her the feeling of being threatened or annoyed.

"No." she gave back after a long pause and calmer than he had expected. She never met his gaze but he could see her shake his head even in the darkness. "No. Stay."

He replied nothing, didn´t know what to say.

"I don´t like being alone." she said, seemingly speaking more to herself. "It makes me feel… isolated." He had the feeling it was not his part to speak right now, therefore he just listened. "… I do not know how I came here and I have no idea who all those people are." Maeve continued. "but … when you´re around I at least don't feel all alone."

It warmed his heart to hear her say something like this, even though it was meaningless of course. One had to feel cold without a soul. Desperately seeking for the warmth of some company. Of course she would not want to be alone.

"Do you know this feeling?" she asked, softly ruffling Dermott´s feathers again and Sinbad wasn´t even sure whether she was talking to the hawk or him for sure. "This feeling when… there is something, somewhere in the back of your mind. You can´t tell what it is but for some reason something feels okay." She looked up and gave him a thoughtful look. "this feeling of something you never saw, someone you never met and still… it´s giving you a feeling of comfort. Because for no reason it feels familiar?"

Not for the first time this day he had the feeling he was nearly choking. What she said there was impossible by everything Rumina had claimed and it wasn´t even a real memory it seemed, just like the phantom of one if at all. Maybe, just like someone who had lost a leg would sometimes feel pain in it even though it was gone, someone who had lost her soul could still feel the shadows of memories that had been taken from her? He had no idea whether that even made sense but right now it didn´t matter since his thoughts were in a strange sort of chaos anyways.

"Yes." he replied, to comfort her, to somehow try and make her talk further. It was a lie. He did not know that feeling.

But she did not say more instantly, just looked at him before she averted her gaze again.

"There is something." she said. "somewhere. So faint I can not grasp it. Something feeling familiar."

His heart was beating loudly now. He was almost sure she could hear it.

"What?" he asked in a low voice, only now realising that he was no longer with his back against the wall. He was sitting on the middle of the plank now, closer to her, close enough so he could have touched her if he had reached for her with a hand. "What is it that feels familiar?" He felt like a drowning, desperately grasping for something to hold on.

She retreated from him when he approached her and he cursed himself inwardly. "You." she said, her voice louder than before now, a mix of insecurity and reproach in her eyes. "Something about you. And it drives me mad I don´t know what it is." And before he could reply anything, she got to her feet and hurried away leaving him behind and looking after her his heart beating wildly. Could it be? he wondered. Could it really be there was the trace of a memory? The phantom of it, like a pain in a severed limb?

While he was still staring after her, an all too familiar laughter ripped him from his thoughts. He did not even have to turn around to identify it.

"Now isn´t that amusing?" Rumina asked. She was sitting on the railing giving him a look that was pure evil satisfaction. "she doesn´t remember you Sinbad, but all the times she has been thinking about you in … that way… all the times you did not take up on it left that trace." He got to his feet, ready to pull his sabre. "Off with you, Rumina." He snarled at her.

"Irony, irony." she gave back instead, chuckling at his threat. "You hurt her, too, Sinbad. That´s the only thing that is still close enough to her to seem… familiar. It´s in her heart,"

He drew his sabre and in a quick movement raised his hand to leash out at her. He struck thin night air when Rumina vanished.


	8. Leading the way

**Author´s note:**

I´m seriously amazed by the amounts of reviews I get fort his story. Really guys, you are the best. :-)

**Tink32542:**

Hey and welcome :-) Good to see you´re having fun with this and thanks for your review. Well, he will find out more about it. Pretty soon ;-)

**MagicalMoonStar**

Good :-) That´d be awesome. The whole first season is on veoh, only prob I have with this is that I´d like to download it all and somehow convert it into an avi format. If you know how that works I´d be sooo grateful. If not, well… what am I looking for? Basically all episodes of season one except episodes 1-5? :-D

Aw, thanks for your nice words btw. :-)

**Ila88**

Yeah. I wouldn´t want it to be all hopeless and since the two of them seemed to share a bond of some sort since the beginning there would be something in her heart that started it… or responded to it and that is free of her soul and still there.

Aw, hehe, but then there would be no villain and no plot development any longer. ;-)

**TiaKisu**

Wow, I feel flattered now. :-) These longer emotion description scenes are fun to write, but challenging too, so I´m always happy when people think they turned out nicely. :-)

**Stitch**

Hehe, lucky you, just read your review I must have receieved just some minutes ago and I´m about to upload a new chapter. ;-)

That´s exactly how I see Doubar, too.

Well, she doesn´t have to be too insightful actually. Anyone who saw those two around each other would be able to tell there was a strong chemistry going on and back when Maeve was still with the crew, Rumina also used to spy on Sinbad with her magic. I guess she watched him quite a bit and saw how he reacted to the crew´s teasing about it and got quite some examples of situations where he denied his feelings and Maeve denied hers.

**Okay, enough with the jabbering. On you go…**

**Chapter 8**

**Leading the way**

It had been one of the longest nights of his life and strangely also one of the nights that flew past with uncanny speed. Stretching because he felt isolated and helpless and fast because he could almost feel time run through his fingers like sand. All he could think of when the sun swiftly rose in the east was that it was now just six nights and seven days left. And that the Nomad was still sailing – east because they had to sail somewhere – without a destination and thus probably further from their goal than ever before.

Sinbad felt worn out and tired. He had spent the entire night on deck, partly because something inside him resisted his weariness, urging him to stay here instead to watch over Maeve. The deck was not deserted, at least the crow´s nest was always occupied, and besides Sinbad noticed that his friends were taking longer shifts, but he simply didn´t feel bad of leaving Maeve alone. She did not come back for his company, but he could have an eye on her like this to protect her from he didn´t know what himself.

What they had been talking about earlier, or rather what Maeve had said, had shaken him, even though in a way different from how her disorientation and despair had gotten to him when she had first woken up. Even though it was a foolish thing to hope for and despite Rumina´s cruel words that wanted to mark her words as something merely resulting from the lingering impression of forsaken love they had never admitted to each other, Sinbad refused to extinguish the little flame of hope that had sparkled at Maeve´s words. _Something about you. And it drives me mad I don´t know what it is._ More than anything else these words displayed Maeve´s confusion, the fact that those memories were indeed lost, reflected only by some lingering sadness engraved in her heart but herself being bereft of a soul she was unable to sort it in, unable to understand. Still, Sinbad caught himself wondering, trying to come up with ways to make her remember. He discarded most of them, afraid that whatever he might do, however he might approach her would wake that new, strange fear she had around him. He didn´t want to call it a fear since the thought of her seeing him that way was entirely strange, but he knew that it had been just that what he had seen in her eyes the day before. The fact that it had been a normal reaction for someone in her situation passed him by. It just hurt and felt bewildering.

When the sun rose higher and morning was there, he went down into his cabin. He was feeling tired but brushed it away, he was feeling downcast and sweaty and took off his shirt to wash, changing into a new shirt after he had done so. He splashed some water into his face from the bowl that was standing on the low table in front of them. Water was rare and prescious on board, they all had to be careful with it and not waste it. He wiped his hands across his face before he gave his blurry mirror image a long look, propped up on his hands and leaning over the porcelain bowl. The face that looked at him looked stern, serious, worried. And no wonder he thought sarcastically, also noticing how many lines had been added to his face since the day Maeve had disappeared. Would Maeve had she returned unharmed and her old self have noticed changes about his face? He couldn´t tell, maybe it was just his self perception playing tricks on him. Either way, the man who met his gaze from the water´s surface was no longer the young energetic sailor he had once been – or so it had seemed. Could a Maeve who had lost all her past memories and all the memories of their fondness even be able to like him? The man he had become? _Something about you._ Weird as it seemed, he again came to wonder what she had meant with that. Had she… recognized him? He stared at himself for another long moment. He didn´t know whether there were ways to help her find a way from these strange dark places where her soul was residing, but he knew he would not leave her in the dark. He knew he would have done everything to help her but decided that for now he had to go in little steps. Try obvious things. His hair had grown during the last two years, his once clean shaved face had clear stubble by now, making him look older, more mature than he had once when they had first met. Stubble and hair had to go. He cut his face once, leaving a thin trace of blood somewhere near his chin until the man who was gazing at him from the bowl looked just like the young sailor Maeve had known. Despite the fact that this face looked more serious and his eyes more stern, there was nothing that had changed about him, just as if he had just returned to a time that had passed.

He gave his new… or old if one looked at it from another perspective… mirror image another testing look before he walked over to the wooden chest near the other end of the cabin to dig out one of the linen shirts he had worn earlier. They did not pronounce his well toned muscles the way his usual outfit did, but the thought that seeing him in a more familiar way might trigger something in Maeve was too dominant to have him care for anything else.

It was then that he remembered what he had told Firouz earlier. They still had no idea where to sail and therefore the sooner they got a hint at where to turn the better. He left his cabin and crossed the deck towards Firouz´ cabin, ignoring the bewildered looks Rongar gave him when he beheld the unfamiliar looks of his captain.

Firouz was in his cabin which, as usual, looked like one big mess, the bed squeezed into a remote corner, the room dominated by a huge and massive table that was lade with strange tools and things that had uses that were far beyond him, a small narrow bench along the side of the cabin also laden with stuff of the weirdest sort and some strange sort of machine to the left hand of the cabin. Squeezing past something that looked like the mix of a windmill and a huge assembly of pumps and little sails (whatever this thing was good for) Sinbad entered the room just to find the inventor where he had expected him; sat behind the table, busy with something. Much to his appreciation it was the necklace he was examining. The greeting he gave the captain was somewhat muffled which told Sinbad that Firouz was in the middle of concentrating on something, a state that Sinbad had grown used to and that would happen whenever his friend had gotten an idea or was enthusiastic about some technical thing.

"Did you find out anything about the necklace yet?" Sinbad asked, leaning against the wall next to the door and crossing his arms in front of his chest, watching the other man.

"No…" Firouz gave back, putting down some sort of looking glass with which he had examined the jewellery and straightening up. "It seems perfectly ordinary. Nothing unusual about it. But then again I´m no specialist in that. I can´t tell you anything about spells or something of the sort because I´m no wiz…"

He broke off in the middle of the word when he looked up and met Sinbad´s gaze. Firouz stood transfixed for a moment before his gaze changed from baffled to questioning. "What…what did you do that for?" he finally asked, most obviously referring to Sinbad´s shorter hair and the fact that he was shaved.

"I´m the captain. Do I always need a reason for something?" Sinbad gave back, being rewarded with another questioning look. He sighed. Firouz either didn´t get it as a joke (and admittedly it had been a rather lame one) or he was not in the mood for jokes (which was more understandable than him talking nonsense like that in a situation like this).

"It´s because of Maeve." He said. "Maybe it´s… easier for her when things go back to how they were before she left." The addition ´Maybe that will help her remember´ was so clear to them both that it didn´t even have to be spoken aloud. "I don´t know, Sinbad…" Firouz´ voice sounded doubtful. Sinbad could vividly imagine what would have followed that remark had the other man continued but he shook his head and raised his hand in denial. He had told Firouz, Rongar and his brother about that necklace. What Rumina claimed it to be. He had also told them what she had told them about Maeve´s state. And Firouz was too much of a scientist to not see the necessity to mention he was hoping for something beyond reach there. Where the source of memories was gone there was no chance of calling them back, just as if was useless to try and kindle a new flame from a handful of cold ashes.

"Thank you. Anyways." Sinbad cut off anything else on the matter that Firouz might have wanted to add. He knew it was stubborn to interrupt him, he knew that it was just his own defences, not willing to stick up with what was very likely the truth, but a small part of him was still unwilling to accept things as they were. He took the necklace that was lying on the table, gave his friend a short nod and turned to leave the cabin.

Stepping back in deck he gave the thing another look, against all odds hoping that something about it had changed, that maybe there was a hint. Of course, there was none. He sighed inwardly. Maybe it was true what he had initially thought and the thing was just another device of Rumina´s to torture him and to add to her joy of seeing him and Maeve suffer. Maybe it would be best to cast it into the sea, maybe it was the thing that Rumina used to keep track of them and at least if they failed to find the Real of the Dead he would not have Rumina have the satisfaction of watching them go down. But even as he thought this he felt anger against himself rise inside him. How could he think something like this he wondered? How had he come so far to give up hope so quickly and to follow his pessimism more than his optimism? Yes, Sinbad had changed in the last two years and going back to his old looks did not mean that it was easy to shake off new habits. He discarded the thought of ridding himself of the bracelet. Whatever it was, even if Firouz had not found anything peculiar about it which also did not exclude the danger of there being some spell woven around it, he was pretty sure there was no instant danger coming off of it. What would be the use of a quick poison if the evil sorceress could use a slow and painful death instead. No. That was unlikely. It was much more likely that the thing was indeed what Rumina had claimed it to be: the empty case of Maeve´s soul. In which case he should better return it to her since it was rightfully hers. He decided to do that now. Also because it meant he could find an excuse to talk to her.

He found her sitting on the deck with her legs pulled towards her and her curly hair ruffled slightly by the wind. Dermott was sitting near her and gave a squeak when Sinbad stepped closer.

"This belongs to you." He said, holding the necklace to him.

Maeve looked up (it seemed to him that she had been busy with something next to her, but there was nothing so, disturbing as it seemed, she had just been drawing lines on the wood with her finger as if her mind had nothing else to do… no memories to linger on), meeting his eyes without fear and with a little glint of curiosity. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened to you?" she asked bewildered. "Did you get bored and decided on a new look?"

He could barely veil his disappointment when this was all his changed appearance evoked.

"You look younger." she stated. "like some… immature boy."

He gave a wry smile. "Well, I was feeling like a change." He just said, opening his hand to place the necklace in hers. She averted her gaze from his to look down at her hand. Her brow furrowed. "What is this?" she asked. "I´ve never seen this before."

"It´s yours." Sinbad repeated, rephrasing his words from before. "You should keep it."

She gave the thing a long look. It looked small, the pendant being just about the size of a cherry pit."

"It´s beautiful…kind of." She said. And Sinbad could just keep himself from saying that of course it was and how it couldn´t be seeing what it was and what treasure it had enclosed.

"Could you help me with it?" she suddenly asked using one hand to hold up her red locks. He had not expected a question like this from her, not after the distance she had shown towards him, not after the fear he had read in her eyes, so it took him by surprise in the moment and he hesistated briefly before he nodded. He had always known how to behave around Maeve, he had gotten a feeling for her moods, but the person before him right now was unpredictable it seemed. He accepted the chain from her hand and she bent her neck a little shifting a little closer. It was an innocent gesture, implying not the slightest hint of flirt, but Sinbad could not shake off the thought of how perfect her hair looked, of how soft her skin felt when he touched the back of her neck with his fingertips, having to hold himself back not to let the touch surpass the borders of the simple action of closing the clip that held the chain. He hated himself for thinking like that. It was selfish, it was horribly selfish seeing what situation they were both in but he couldn´t help it and therefore retreated in the moment the chain was fastened. She gave him the hint of a shy smile, her hand straying to her neck to set the pendant right. "Thank you." she told him and all he could do was nod.

Her hand then left her neck, falling back to her side again and Sinbad noticed something in that instant: there was something going on with the necklace… it had started to glow. It wasn´t too evident, but it was a soft but distinguished yellowish, nearly golden, glow that seemingly came from somewhere deep inside the pendant.

"What is it?" Maeve asked seemingly noticed his bewilderment. She then followed his eye and with a frown turned the pendant in her hand. The glow did not abide. "It didn´t do that before, did it?" she asked with a curiosity that reminded him of a child. "No." he replied, his thoughts starting to swirl. "No, it didn´t."

Maeve got to her feet, still holding the pendant in her hand and looking at it. She walked a few steps towards the railing and her frown deepened a little as he could even see from the side. She then turned in the middle of a step and walked along the ship to the rear end. It seemed to make no sense to her, but neither had her finger doodling from earlier borne any significance. Then she tossed him a look over the shoulder. "It is changing." She told him, some amazement in her voice. "It is getting brighter." She did some backwards steps and then a few steps forward again "When I walk into… that direction it´s glowing more."

Sinbad had the feeling that his heart was starting to beat hard against his chest. After a few moments of baffled silence, he raised his voice, giving orders to the crew.

"Turn the sails! We´re going north!"

It all made sense to him now. Now that Maeve was connected to the soul case as its rightful owner, finally they had their guide. Maeve had become the guide. Her heart would want to connect to her soul again. When the Nomad turned around, her sails billowing in the wind, Sinbad had the feeling that those winds brought hope with them.


	9. The most precious treasure of all

Chapter 9

**Author´s note: **Okay, I had no time to update earlier, the last two days have really been tough. Far too much to do for school with extra stuff for trainee teacher seminar and meet the parents day (bleh) But here you go, chapter 9. This is actually a chapter with a little cliffhanger, mwahahaha. From the next one onwards there will be pieces of action scened drippled in now and then.

**Ila88:** Yep, that was the idea I had behind it. There was a sort of connection between Maeve and Sinbad from the beginning which I doubt Rumina can severe so easily :-) Even though things must be terribly confusing for her right now.

**Space-Case7029**: Yep, there is definitely a link. The thing with the guide took some time, simply because I felt the need to establish some things first so it wouldn´t look too rushed from a reader´s p.o.v. I see there are a lot of emotions and thoughts involved that have to be dealt with, a lot of stuff going on in Sinbad´s head and letting them out would feel kind of wrong. But now they at least know where to turn. And trouble is not too far of I can tell you :-)

**TiaKisu**: Yes, she´s a sorceress which I interpret as something genetic (at least my weird little mind does) and therefore can not be extinct by Rumina. However, the question remains how far that evil chick maybe tempered with it. But you´ll see stuff about it yet, definitely.

**Stitch**: Hehe, wow, I feel predictable now ;-) Well, it seemed only logical. Since the necklace is kind of a part of her it would react to her in another way than it would to another person. Aw, sorry I didn´t manage to update yesterday cause getting remarks like that are just so nice :-)

**Chapter 9**

**The most precious treasure of all **

„What happened to it?" Maeve asked, holding the necklace between her fingers, turning it and giving it a questioning look. "It was all dark a moment ago."

The light inside the pendant had not lessened but was shining with the same strength that it had acquired once the Nomad had turned sails. It was more hope than knowledge to take it as a guide, but it was the only hope they had, the only path that might be there and so discussing it had not been an option for Sinbad when he had quickly given orders. No one would question his authority as a captain and in addition to that not just his brother, Firouz and Rongar were worried about Maeve, so there would be nobody who would wonder where they were turning and why. Sinbad did not feel too well about the fact that he had not given the whole crew instructions about where they were heading. He had even briefly wondered whether there would be a minor rebellion if he told them. There were stories, tales about the realm of Hades and those of them that spoke of humans venturing there never ended happily. No one returned from the Land of the Dead, everyone knew that, but still when the captain had told his friends where they were about to go, there had been no arguments. Maybe there would be, no, there had to be a way to leave the rest of the crew somewhere save before things became really dangerous. Sinbad didn´t feel good about getting all those good men involved and it was not fair either to let them sail…. well… do death literally. And he wouldn´t let them sail there. He would make sure they sailed to a port somewhere where they could either wait or find another crew while their captain and his crew went on on their own.

Sinbad scowled at the thought. Was he so coined by old nursery tales that he was about to give up thoughts of a return? He clenched his jaw. Whatever might happen, he would try anything to save Maeve´s soul. He was very well aware of the fact that that was just what Rumina had foretold him, that he was willing to fight against all odds, still giving up was no option.

And as the sun was climbing higher, passing zenith, the Nomad picked a steady pace and Sinbad had moved over to the tiller, glad that Maeve had followed him.

"I do not know." he answered her question from a moment ago rightfully, explaining to her what he had briefly told her before.

"I think it will show us the way."

"The way?" Maeve asked. "You still didn´t tell me where exactly we are going." Her voice sounded slightly reproachful as she raised her eyebrow at him, giving him one of Maeve´s typical expressions that nearly made him smile.

"We will have the necklace lead the way and see how we reach our aim."

"Let me guess," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "it will lead us to some treasure somewhere at the end of the world, just as in every single, stereotypical story that involves a ship and a swashbuckling captain."

Now it was his turn to raise eyebrows and he did so, no longer able to suppress a smile at her words before turning a little more serious again.

"Yes." he said. "it will lead us to the most precious treasure of all."

She rolled her eyes and turned towards the railing.

"You can be terribly cliché you know that?" she said. Some comment like ´And isn´t that just what you like?´ was at the tip of his tongue and he swallowed it with some effort, just in time managing to mask the beginning of the first word of that flirty provocation a cough. She gave him a sceptical look over the shoulder which he retorted with his most innocent smile.

In this moment her attention was distracted by Dermott who landed on the railing next to her. To his relief Sinbad noticed that Maeve no longer retreated from the hawk and furthermore did not really seem to mind his presence, especially since even he could tell that the bird was making quite an effort to get her attention. Maybe the fact that he had been next to her for most of the night had made the red-headed sorceress trust him. Sinbad couldn´t really tell. "What does he do all day while he´s gone?" she asked, thoughtfully ruffling the hawk´s feathers.

"Scouting." Sinbad replied. "Dermott is a member of the crew. He has his duties, too."

She gave him a look that spoke of slight bewilderment. "You are one crazy lot of people." she remarked before returning her attention to the hawk. "He… seems upset about something." she said with a slight scowl. "I don´t know why, it´s like he´s trying to tell me something or… I´m guessing what he´s thinking or something. Something worries him."

Sinbad listened to her words, feeling his heart beat increase. It was both encouraging and devastating to see that Maeve had no memory at all but still had everything that had made up her personality. The verbal bantering, her facial expressions, her way to move… all of this was Maeve, only…as an empty shell. Like a new sheet of paper. And now, could it really be that she was feeling a sort of bond with Dermott? He knew too little of the bond she had shared with the bird to be able to tell, but it had to be something closer to her heart than her soul if she could tell there was something wrong with Dermott. Hawks didn´t exactly have a too different set of means to communicate, or at least this was his viewpoint on things.

She said nothing for a few moments and neither did he. "I´d ask you why I can tell." she said then, her voice low, her brow furrowed slightly and he could not help and keep looking at her. He had been missing her so much that now she was around again he would have stayed next to her all the time, if the circumstances had been different. "But…" her voice sounded somewhat uncertain. "you know there are so many questions I have already and I think you wouldn´t be able to answer them anyways… or most of them. Right?" She turned at him at the last word and he could only nod. She gave a sigh before turning back to the sea. "This is so frustrating" she said, more talking to herself than him now. Whatever could he say about this, he wondered? He would have wanted to comfort her, to tell her things,to tell her everything about her, that she was a sorceress, where she came from, everything about what they had been through, all their adventures and what had happened to her that she did not remember a thing. But something told him that it would be a dangerous thing to do, to confront her with a world that was no longer her own. He did not know where he took that knowledge from but it was a gut feeling too strong to ignore.

Again, there was silence between them, not awkward, but partly on the border of being so, while Sinbad stood by the tiller and Maeve stared out at the sea. If one just tried hard enough, Sinbad thought, it was almost like in the old days. Where they would spend ours on deck together not talking all the time but just keeping each other´s company. The memory hurt. And for a moment he was almost ready to complain to himself about what was worse: losing all memory or still having it and letting it hurt so much. It was an unfair thought and he abandoned him.

"So…" she began after a moment, turning towards him again. "…since I don´t know anything about me it seems, at least you could tell me a bit about you. Not that you look like a threat but I´d at least like to know who I´m sailing with, you know."

He smirked at that. "Well, what do you want to know?" he asked. It was such a weird feeling to ask this.

Maeve shrugged. "I don´t know." she said, to his dismay sounding less than she was interested but more like she was just asking to have some information to add to her own emptiness. "Whatever. Have you always been a captain?"

It was a random question, nothing personal, a question that fitted into the scheme of her getting some information for the sake of them, not the sake of him.

"I was still a boy when I became a sailor." he said. She had once known that or hadn´t she? Had he told her? Right now his own thoughts were so confused that he could hardly remember. "The sea feels more like home than any other place." It was a true statement and he smiled a little at these words.

Maeve´s expression changed a little. "No real home?" she asked.

"I would call the Nomad my home." he gave back. "It´s as good as any other place. Better if you ask me."

"Hm…" her reaction clearly showed she was not too sure about that. "Didn´t you ever think about settling down?" she then asked. "Somewhere? With a nice girl?"

His heart clenched slightly at this. He knew the answer to that. Not about the settling down, but about the nice girl.

"What?" she asked, sounding slightly bemused, almost creating the illusion of being her old self. "You´re blushing. You don´t have a girl?"

He only then noticed she was right, feeling that his cheeks were indeed a little flushed and he inwardly rolled his eyes at himself for behaving like a teenage boy. He could hardly tell her the truth there he thought with an inward sigh. But there were several ways of telling the truth.

"There is a girl." he said after a moment.

"I knew it." she said, almost sounding triumphantly. He studied her features closely, looking for any sort of a more distinguished reaction but found none. "Who is she?"

"I met her a long time ago." he said, wondering what was the sense in talking like that. It was masking things for her and it wasn´t too easy on him either. But he shut that thought off. If talking to her about things like that kept her interested and occupied and if things others told her could helped make the emptiness of her own memories easier to bear …

"Where is she now?" Maeve asked. "You sound like you liked her."

"She is…" This was much more difficult. "Someone took her away from me." She didn´t react to that, just looked at him and listened. "It´s a long and complicated story" he tried to get his head out of the sling.

"If this is true," she said. "and she means something to you, then you should look for her or help her in any way you can."

"I do." he replied fighting an inner struggle not to let his eyes convey the truth that he was indeed talking about her. "I am trying to get her back. Right now."

She gave him a long look. "This is where we are going, isn´t it?" she asked. "This is the treasure you are looking for." It was a statement much more than it was a question and Sinbad felt choked unable to muster more than a nod.

Maeve stepped closer and lightly touched his shoulder with a hand. "I hardly know anything about you, Sinbad." She said. ´And I still didn´t quite forgive me from taking me away from the only place I knew´ her eyes added for him. "but this is such a sad story. I will help you get her back. The necklace is hers isn´t it?" He couldn´t respond. "Maybe it glows when I wear it because I am a woman, too? Like her, I mean. I´ll wear it Sinbad and help you."

He felt like he could barely breathe and in this moment it was actually Doubar saving him, showing up behind Maeve and giving him a questioning look when he saw the two of them standing so close with the face of his little brother clearly speaking of emotional pain.

"Doubar." he said, his own voice sounding strange to him.

"Your shift is nearly over, little brother." Doubar said. "Let me take over the tiller for now."

He did not contradict, just nodded. Giving Maeve a nod and a smile to excuse himself he left the deck and headed to his cabin. His heart beating so hard it hurt he leant against the door just after he had closed it, pressing his eyes shut for a moment. Maeve would have no idea how their conversation had shaken him. ´I will help you get her back.´ If she only knew… For the first time since Maeve had been washed overboard he felt like he could hardly hold back tears. He didn´t quite manage, his eyes started to water and he slammed a fist against the doorframe, the outburst resulting more from helplessness and frustration than anger. If she only knew…

Maeve had remained on board and had not followed him. Of course she hadn´t. Even though she had felt his troubles she had decided it was not her place to fill to go and ask how he felt. She hardly knew him. He was the captain. That, too, hurt.

But in his pain and sudden retreat, Sinbad had ignored a warning. Dermott´s warning. The hawk had never erred before and he was unlikely to start doing so now…


	10. Lullaby

Chapter 10 **Author´s note:**

On with another chapter :-) You guys really make me happy with your reviews :-D

Those of you who know the animated movie "Sinbad – Legend of the Seven Seas" will likely see parallels to a scene in this movie in this chapter. These parallels are not because it´s a rip off but because the elements used there are rooted in Greek mythology and I also altered the background to it as you´ll soon see so it has to do with the underlying plot, part of which will be revealed in chapter 11, so stay tuned :-)

**Stitch:** I´m seriously glad you enjoyed that dialog because I´m partly still wondering whether I manage to be in character when writing dialog scenes. Yeah, poor guy is not having an easy time there. (pats Sinbad´s head then thinks better of it and pats Sinbad´s butt instead :-P)

**TiaKisu**: Hehe, well, cliffhangers keep readers on their toes ;-) Or at least I hope so. So.. you´ll probably hate me after this chapter for letting you dangle in the air again, mwahahaha. Well, if it´s cute AND sad, I´ll feel really flattered because that´s what I wanted to achieve :-)

**Space-Case7029**: Well, they will suffer a little bit. Not too much. But the climax of this story is just starting, right? So there will be quite some worse stuff to come than what they´re about to face now, hehe.

**Ila88:** Yeah, I kind of enjoyed having them talk in such an ambiguous way, with things being totally ambiguous for him but seemingly not so for Maeve. :-)

Again to all of you, thank you so much for your reviewing. :-) It´s part of what keeps me motivated to write on, so my creativity is partly in your hands :-)))

**Chapter 10** Lullaby

Ignoring Dermott´s warning would soon prove to be a bad idea. Whether Maeve´s mental link with the hawk had lessened or whether Maeve without a memory only had to find her way back to this connection was hard to tell afterwards, but that did not change the fact that, also under the impression of the conversation her and Sinbad had had by the tiller, they had not heeded the bird´s squeaks and nervous hopping from one foot to the other. It was something that would not have happened to the old Maeve, but thinking about it later and reproaching himself for not taking over that part of watchfulness for her would not help either and Sinbad was very well aware of that.

It started slowly, no apparent danger but a creeping one that none of them thought to be threatening had it not been for the fog. Just as it had happened some days before they were suddenly surrounded by fog again just as they had drifted right into a bank of mist that had surely not been there a couple of minutes ago. Dermott was sitting hunched up on one of the lower sail masts, his feathers pressed against his body as if he was trying to avoid a cold that wasn´t there and the captain, when he returned to the deck after he had spent quite some minutes below, trying to calm down and get a grip on himself, noticed that his men were somewhat on edge. It was a nervousness that quickly took over on him even though he did not show it. The last time they had been surrounded by mist, he had been faced with Rumina not too long after. Still, there was something that bewildered him: Rumina had told him it had been Maeve luring him to that island, which didn´t necessarily mean she had been the caster of the misty spell, but if one continued from that point, the thought might lead to the conclusion that there were other forces behind it that were of course not Maeve and thus most likely not benevolent.

When Sinbad walked along the side of the Nomad towards the ship´s front, he noticed that his hand was resting on the hilt of his sabre. He had no idea what was going on, but since he had seen this kind of fog before (and even though he had never shared a special bond with Dermott he still trusted the bird´s intuition) he didn´t doubt there was something fishy about the whole scenery. He found Maeve who had not moved much from where she had been standing, talking to Doubar at the tiller.

"We´re having strange weather today." the sorceress told him with a furrowed brow that told him she was having suspicions about this mist not being a natural one but not sure whether he would understand if she voiced them.

"I know." he gave back, trying to sound casual. If it was really Rumina trying to get to them again and trying to play yet another unfriendly trick, he would not make it easy for her. After all, it made sense. They had found the guide to Hades, that might be enough to get Rumina in a foul mood.

His voice he noticed, was sounding a little less casual than he would have wished it to sound. "You should go under deck, Maeve."

She gave him an askance sidewards glance. "Why should I?" she asked.

"Well..." he didn´t really know why to explain it to her other than that he was feeling uneasy and that he wanted to avoid her becoming a target. "... because we might be sailing through heavy waters soon and I´d rather you stay where it´s a little calmer."

"I can take care of myself, thank you." she acted up against him with a pouty raising of her eyebrows, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "If you knew me you´d know I´m not one of these easily scared damsels in distress. I don´t mind a little wind." she added with a mocking flap of her hand. He suppressed a comment along the lines of how well he knew her but of course didn´t say that aloud. Instead he tried his best stern face. "I´m the captain." he told her. "and as long as you´re on board, you´re crew." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don´t think I´m going because you tell me." she said. "i´m just going because people say The cleverer give in. And that´s so obvious." With her arms still crossed she pranced past him with her head held high. He followed her with his gaze just to notice that – of course – she did not follow his order and leave the deck, but merely trod to the other end of the boat. "Maeve!" he called after her, partly to get her attention, partly to reinforce what he had said. He knew he was being extra careful, but after having found her again and in this state, he was feeling protective. She turned her head at him slightly but pretended not to know what he was going at.

Sinbad gave a sigh, deciding that he either had to put more energy into literally dragging her to her cabin which neglecting defence for a possible attack by taking care for his men being where they needed to be to defend the Nomad if necessary or letting her have her way for now. With a heavy heart he decided for the latter, but nodded his head at Firouz who was standing a little below. His friend understood and headed into the direction Maeve had taken to keep an eye on the woman. That made him feel a little more at ease for the moment and he shouted a couple of commands to his men until after a couple of moments everyone had shifted their attention to the strange fog that was engulfing the ship, ready to attack whatever might rise from it.

"Do you think Rumina is behind this again?" Doubar asked, still standing at the tiller.

"I don´t know." Sinbad gave back with a grim face. "But I wouldn´t be astonished. We better stay on guard. If it´s just the weather a little watchfulness won´t do any harm."

"Aye." Doubar gave back, before he scowled. "What is it?" Sinbad asked, not sure whether he had heard something and his brother had referred to just that.

"There was something, I think." Doubar replied. "there, near starboard." Sinbad tossed the older man a glance before he left his point and headed towards where Doubar had indicated, leaning over the railing slightly to look down. There had been something he was sure himself, a splash or something and that kept him even a little more on edge. One never knew what wicked ways Rumina could come up with, it was always better to beware. His hand had never strayed from the hilt of the sabre. He narrowed his eyes slightly, then he spotted it. Shades... shades in the water, formless things, elegantly floating and one could impossibly tell whether it was water or mist they consisted of. He watched them for a moment, sceptical and on guard wondering what they were. "Rongar." he called out because he knew the other man had been standing rather close. The tall warrior stepped next to him a moment later. "Look at this." Sinbad said, pointing. "Have you ever seen something like this before?" He was still careful, but something inside him whispered that what he saw had a fascination that was more important than his carefulness. He turned his head to see Rongar shrug, the other man´s face slightly confused. "What do you think it is?" Sinbad wondered aloud when one of the shades leaped from the water to describe an elegant curve, momentarily taking the form of a dolphin just to dive back into the water with a silent splash, giving the illusion it was a solid thing. "It´s got to be some sort of trickery." Sinbad murmured. "That or we´re sailing in strange waters now that our course is set."

Again the shades leaped upwards, this time reaching almost to the railing, not taking any form other than some misty, grey flame like shape and instead of splashing back, it seemed to lose all consistency and floated upwards, on deck, making Sinbad shrink back a little. He walked backwards, half drawing his sabre but not pulling it since it seemed ridiculous to slash at mist. "Be careful." he called out to his men. They would get the warning, they all had been sailing with him for quite a time knowing that sailing with Sinbad meant encountering strange things at times. Rongar, too, had retreated and watched the shades carefully when they floated closer. There was no threat to them, Sinbad noticed. Actually, they were the most peaceful things he had ever seen, floating silently on board the Nomad like curious fingers of an unknown creature testing and exploring new territory. Whatever they were, they seemed to almost emanate calmness and he wondered what they were. At some point his grip on the sabre slackened and the weapon slid back into its sheath while the young captain did a step forwards instead suddenly curious how the shades felt and reaching for them with a hand. They seemed to react, feel he was getting closer and intent to touch and wound from his grasp, taking the shape of a swanlike bird first, then of a nymph before dissolving, forming some sort of cloak around him, making him drowsy. He was starting to feel tired, just as if he had stayed up for too long and his body was demanding sleep. Tossing a lazy gaze over at the tiller he saw Doubar too was watching the shades that were creeping up to him, not afraid either. Looking around he saw that it was the same everywhere on board. He could see Firouz and Rongar, even Dermott perched up on the cabin seemed lazy and drowsing. He couldn´t spot Maeve which unsettled him. "Maeve?" he asked. "Where are you, Maeve?" His voice sounded somewhat lulled he noticed with a stupid smile, before he remembered that he had sent her to her cabin. Clever girl... he thought dully, clever girl to obey the captain...

Drowsiness was getting heavier. Sleep... he thought and the shades seemed to reflect on that thought, echoing it throughout his mind. He looked up, meeting gaze with another shady nymph that caressed his cheek before dissolving again and floating back into the sea, assuming the shape of a seal. Sleep...

His eyes rolled back in his head when he felt his body slide down to the planks, his mind faintly registering that there was a distinguished roar somewhere close by as something massive erupted from the waves very close to the ship. Then everything faded to soft, lulling, comfortable black.


	11. Death s little brother

Chapter 11

**Author´s note:**

Okay, this chapter I noticed wasn´t a too easy one. It starts unfolding the mystery and adds a little piece to what will later become the overall picture and also what I based the mythical creature in this chapter on is very little knowledge because that one is pretty little known and just mentioned between the lines now and then. Which again gives me quite some freedom, hehe :-)

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**MagicalMoonStar**

Hey, hope you got my pm? Sorry for all the racket I caused there, cause I found a way by now. When you download on veoh.tv things are automatically saved in avi format on your puter, yay :-) Thanks for your comment. Nice to hear you enjoy it :-)

**Stitch**:

I know, I neglected Rongar a little so far. He will have more of an opportunity to to show up soon, but thanks for reminding me anyways :-) Well, that´s one thing that was difficult to write actually, because it´s kind of unlike Sinbad to get all ´ oh wheee, pretty shiny things in the water, aw, won´t surely be anything dangerous, rite?´ Nu-huh. But once bigger powers or magic is involved it works. So it´s not stupid Sinbad in this case, rather other forces having their wicked way with him. (opens her mouth to say something about wanting to be ´other forces´ then, but closes it again) Er… yeah. Hope you keep enjoying the story :-)

**tink32542**

More siren-like or siren-inspired. As you will find out in this chapter it´s somewhat different but the inspiration definitely came from there. Hm… I was considering those two but they would not have fitted into the atmosphere of this chapter yet because they´re a tad too big and I´m trying to have things turn more and more dangerous and topping Skylla might be difficult for starters especially with all the stuff that still lies ahead of them. :-)

**TiaKisu**

Aww, that´s such a nice thing to say, why thank you :-) You should really watch the movie (psst… it´s on veoh. com, good quality, full length :-P), it´s really cool :-) Hehe, not your next door sea monster coming up there but nice to see I got you on your toes :-)

**Ila88**

Course she is. Maeve not being stubborn would be really disturbing now wouldn´t it? She still has her heart doesn´t she? :-D Nice to see you liked that part, it was fun writing it. (has a thing for details and stuff) Well, end the wondering, here´s more for you :-)

**Space-Case7029**

Well, no mystery about that for one, even though she would never admit she did it because he told her to, she returned to her cabin for a mo. Which turned out rather practical for the crew as you´ll now see. :-)

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Chapter 11**

**Death´s little brother**

Sinbad had the feeling he was floating. Floating somewhere in the middle of nowhere. His feet were not touching ground or at least they did not feel it, he seemed disembodied almost and had the feeling of being light, weightless. He saw nothing, did not even know whether he could open his eyes, but didn´t try either. It seemed meaningless. Sleep… one more time this single word echoed through his mind and now it had a pull to it and a force that made it difficult for him to focus on anything else. And why ever should he? He felt so at ease with where he was, his senses so lulled and unsharpened that there couldn´t possibly be anything else he would rather want to do than sleep nor any other place that seemed more inviting and that…

"Ou!" His own voice sounded sharp when it broke through the silence of his dulled mind, ripped back into reality by a sharp pain that he first could not even sort in. Before his eyes snapped open that was and looked into another set of eyes – one that belonged to a certain red head who had grabbed him by the collar with a hand and had her other hand raised to slap his cheek for another time.

"M..Maeve? Are you… are you mad?" Nothing made sense for a moment, a second or two, before his brain started working again and Sinbad fully remembered what had happened.

"Get to your feet you sleepyhead." Maeve replied instead, her voice sharp and determined while she underlined her words by dragging his collar a little more. He knew he was stronger than her but obeyed, staggering to his feet and at the same time from instinct grabbing for his sabre. The memory was back, there had been something at the border of his senses shortly before he had… well… what actually? Fallen asleep? Dropped unconscious?... and it was still there, had to be he was sure. When he moved abruptly he noticed several things at once, storming against his senses and momentarily overwhelming him and leaving him confused. One, the light had changed to one of a late dusk with night approaching even though it was really only midday. Two, the ship was still in one piece and not attacked either right now as far as he could judge, be it only for the slight moves the Nomad gave from rocking on slightly more troubled waves. Which obviously resulted from another thing… the waters had been troubled by what had risen from their depths. Sinbad stood transfixed for a very short moment before regaining his composure, raising his eyes to the massive shape above that was towering over the ship, not noticing that the misty shades that had engulfed him and lulled him asleep had retreated once Maeve had awoken him, to swiftly creep back across the deck to melt with the figure that had risen from the waves.

Sinbad had seen many things during his journeys. He had learned to tell the powerless from the strong – when it came to humans, heroes, creatures, monsters. What he had little experience with was: Gods. And the creature looking down on them was one without a doubt. Power was emanating from the misty features like an almost feelable aura. He was tall. Taller than any man, his upper body alone so large that, hovering in the water to his waist, his head was above the crow´s nest. His skin was grey or… blueish, it was hard to tell because it seemed misty, just as the shades had been, solid and not so, like something that was half real and half illusion. He had the face of a young man with floating hair and fierce yet soft blue eyes which made it difficult to the watcher to tell whether this was a benevolent or malevolent creature. The look with which he gazed down on them, Sinbad and Maeve, for the others on deck were still not moving, entranced by the shades and asleep or whatever state he had sent them to, was a look that spoke of selfassurance, the knowledge that these creatures were by far inferior. Humans merely.

Sinbad was feeling torn. Attacking didn´t seem wise yet he felt like doing it but on the other hand he did not want to risk the good of his men. He was just about to open his mouth again and yell up at the creature above them, demanding his friends and crew to be released when Maeve made the first move. She seemed enraged, her eyes were full of anger which surprised him.

"You?!" Her voice echoed strangely across the sky when she approached the other side of the ship in a gesture that was supposed to be threatening but for a God had to seem just ridiculous. He just looked down on her, neutrally, like a human might look at a bug, not with disgust, but not caring much either. "What are you doing here?" she snapped, her voice almost slipping.

"I didn´t think we would meet again so soon when I last saw you." The God spoke and his voice matched his outer appearance. In what way was hard to say and Sinbad later couldn´t even tell whether it had been a voice… or whether he had heard those words merely in his mind.

Maeve didn´t reply, but her sword was in her hand, a useless thing against a God, but a sign of fearlessness nonetheless.

"Who are you?" Sinbad demanded. "And what have you done with my crew?"

The God tossed an almost lazy glance at the men sleeping on deck. He looked… disappointed in a way and with a cold feeling inside Sinbad realised why. They had woken up. They had denied this God his prey. They had somehow… or rather, Maeve had somehow managed to shake off his magic…power…whatever it was. For had she not, they would have slept on, slept until those shades would have silently and carefully carried them down into the sea. To sleep on. And never awake again. This God was free with his thoughts, delivering them to him without hiding anything, because obviously he saw no reason in having secrets with these humans. Because they could not do him harm. Because he was so far above them.

"Sinbad, master of the Seven Seas…" he said. "… but not been to all of them it seems. I am Hypnos, the God of Sleep and you trespassed my realm." He seemed to grow at that and for the first time his aura had something threatening about him when he spread his hands, mists erupting from them and the day becoming ever darker, night falling at noon.

"No, we did not!" Again it was Maeve who spoke and Sinbad wondered why. They were sailing waters unknown even to himself so maybe Hypnos was speaking the truth. There would not be any reason for him to lie anyways. "I remember you…" Her voice sounded strong but full of fury. "It was you…you made me fall asleep and then I didn´t remember anything and…then I was on that island!"

Sinbad could feel his fingertips start to tingle at her words, pieces of the puzzle suddenly fitting together. Rumina was a strong sorceress but he had wondered how she had managed to capture Maeve. So she had had help… a God´s help. That explained quite a lot… even though it did not explain why a God would feel obliged to aid an evil sorceress. Even though the Gods were known, or at least some of them, to find joy in some wicked little games with the mortals now and then, why would they step down their powers to do Rumina of all witches a favour? He also learned another thing from Maeve´s words. She did not remember anything from her old life even though she had now an image of who had ended it. It was like the mockery of hope.

"It was me, yes." Hypnos replied, a misty shade erupting from his fingertips and taking the form of some snakes that were seeking to entwine around the young sorceress´ body. She shrank back. "You have no power over me." she said, her voice almost a growl and a hint of triumph audible in her words. "You caught me unaware. But not a second time." She shook her head determinently and Sinbad understodd: she had indeed obeyed him and gone to her cabin and from there she must have realised there was something strange going on. And since Hypnos, as she claimed, had entranced her once already, she would have been warned. He couldn´t help but feeling proud at her for some reason.

Her words didn´t have a too positive on her opposite though. Hypnos dissolved his body, a thick and wavering fog engulfing the ship at once, his voice present in their minds. _Foolish mortal. Why should you think so little of my powers? I am a God after all! You are just a leaf in the wind…you can not fight Hypnos, God of Sleep, Brother of Death. _There was clearly anger in his voice, but there was more that was hard to sort in but that might be anger about the fact that Maeve was partly right about defying him. And Sinbad took up on that little hint.

"Death we might not be able to fight." Sinbad yelled. "but Sleep we can fight." Truth be told, things were getting difficult right now. When Hypnos had left his human like shape he had felt a strong wave of weariness creep up on him again and Maeve didn´t seem unaffected any longer either. He blinked once or twice before he dashed off, not heeding the God of Sleep but following a plan that came to his mind all of a sudden. Weaken sleep… He reached the tiller with a few mighty leaps, shaking his brother´s shoulder almost violently. The shades that were Hypnos followed him at the heels, unfeelable and without consistency but against all odds trying to hold on to him. _No!_ the voice demanded but Sinbad did not listen. Weaken him, he thought and that thought filled his entire mind. Weaken him. As soon as Doubar seemed somewhere near waking he yelled at him to wake the others, hoping his brother would think quickly and overcome confusion, before he ran on to where Rongar lay. One after the other he woke his friends who in turn did likewise. The shades that were Hypnos were ever by their feet lashing without effect like cunning sea snakes, until they reassumed a smaller shape, the same human like one as before but this time towering as a three metres tall half giant in front of the young captain, the fair face of the God changed in fury. "How dare you defy me!" he demanded. "How dare you, mortal!" His words were not the words of someone mad, but godlike, powerful anger. And still… they were quite revealing.

"Because…" Sinbad said looking up to the creature. "…I can. You have no power here."

For a long moment they looked each other in the eye, god and human and Sinbad was almost about to break the eye contact when the God spoke. "Hypnos is a powerful God." he said his voice assuming a trancelike gracefulness. "but Sleep is a weaker tool than others. Death. Discord. Revenge. You can shake off sleep, but not forever. And foolish is he who defying Sleep deems himself secure."

These words made little sense to him and Sinbad just stared, his muscles tense as if before a fight. He did not even have to turn around to know his friends had stepped up behind him. "We did not mean to trespass your realm." Sinbad said, no apology however in his words. "but it only turned dark…the realm of Sleep…when you were already near. So what errands do you have with my crew?"

"He helped Rumina." Maeve´s voice, rather close to him. "He lulled me asleep." Hypnos gave her an uncaring look. "I did not aid the witch." he said. "the matters of mortals are not my concern. I solely acted on Revenge´s behalf. You evaded me, you could never defy me. Keep that in mind once you encounter graver perils… than Sleep, sailor."

A last look and the God of Sleep returned to the mists he had risen from, taking all the mists and shades with him and also the darkness that faded back into day in a manner of moments, leaving the crew of the Nomad confused and disoriented.

"Fellow has no manners." Sinbad sarcastically murmured to himself. "Didn´t even say goodbye." He put his sabre back into the scabbard, still not entirely sure what had just happened. Or why Hypnos had not become a threat.

"He is one of the lesser Gods in the old Tales." Maeve said as if she had read his thoughts, looking into the distance. "Mythology sees Hypnos, Sleep, as the brother of Death and his power over humans, even though he is immortal, is limited. He can not use force against them, he can only try to lure them. And those that escape his shades… or are aware of them because they encountered them before, like I did, can easily defy him."

Sinbad turned towards her slowly. He had the feeling that there was something strange slowly creeping up his skin. The way she spoke… Mythology, old lores. "Where do you know that from?" he asked slowly. She returned his glance, then blinked. "I…I don´t know." she said, at once looking lost. Sinbad would have liked to slap himself for asking. "I just know."

It was impossible. She couldn´t have memories. Maybe that meant that Maeve´s skills as a sorceress and the knowledge that had been so deeply engraved within her through the teachings of master Dim Dim were so much a part of her that they were not easily dismissed with the discarding of the soul? He couldn´t find an answer to that but didn´t dwell on the thought either since there were more important matters at hand, one of them being that Maeve looked terribly distressed again. It was another thing she could not make sense of and it seemed to confuse her greatly. He set an end to it before she could start to panic. "Let us go and get something to eat and a little rest now, shall we?" he therefore casually asked and following an instinct, putting his hand around her waist. She flinched slightly at the touch but did not retreat, just gave him a raised eyebrow. "Careful there laddy." she just said and he couldn´t fight the urge of retorting that with his most charming smirk. At once he inwardly scowled at that. Get a grip on yourself, he thought, and stop hitting on her for once. Better keep yourself prepared for worse stuff to come. If you´re really on right track for Hades this can hardly have been all of it. And time is not stopping either. Therefore, his smirk faded a little when he let go of her and instead walked beside her. They all could need something to restore their minds and stomachs he decided and partly he thought so just to distract his thoughts… For the captain´s thoughts were troubled, straying into this direction and that. Every minute brought Maeve closer to her doom and above all that, Hypnos´ words were still fresh in his memory. _I solely acted on Revenge´s behalf. _Something about this gave him a very, very uneasy feeling…


	12. Intriguing

Chapter 12

**Author´s note:**

Okay, took me a little more this time (I think), but this is a rather exhausting week. But here´s another update for you guys :-)

**Ila88**

Thanks, glad you like it :-) Hm, well, we´ll see. The uneasy feeling is certainly justified, but you´ll see why ;-) Hehe, of course he can´t. Wouldn´t be Sinbad otherwise. :-)

**TiaKisu**

The revenge of Hypnos… that actually made me smirk. So much fun to see readers suspect into the wrong directions mwahaha You might be surprised later in the story, hehe. There will be a little more on that somewhen later, probably in chapter 13, even though it was basically not more than Hypnos lulling her. Not much interaction. But of course there is a background story and motivation to it which has yet to be revealed :-)

**Space-Case7029**

I´m still trying to figure out these small bits of Maeve. It´s not too easy to write because it has to be logical with regards to the plotline yet, since she still has her heart, there have to be some things she now and then discovers. And the rest well it´s a mystery. If Rumina thougt she could break all bonds between them or something than she´s not the brightest bulb in the box. :-P

**Stitch**

Aw, thanks (beams). Nope, or… well, he does realise, he just would admit openly most likely ;-)

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 12**

**Intriguing **

The rest of the day passed uneventful. Not that Sinbad would have preferred it differently, if differently meant another encounter with Hypnos or whatever he or Rumina might have up their sleeves. A God who could command illusions like that could be a serious threat he knew and hadn´t it been for Maeve, the journey would have been over now and the Nomad would be floating across unknown waters as a ghost ship with its crew lulled to eternal sleep by the little brother of Death. Sinbad inwardly shuddered at the thought alone. Hadn´t it been for Maeve…he blended out the logic that hadn´t it been for her, there would have been no deity following them. It was nothing he´d reproach her for. He would go to the end of the world if that meant to save her and he knew that. And strictly speaking, this was what he was doing. He smirked bitterly when his thoughts turned that way while looking up at the billowing sails that he had been staring at for the last couple of minutes. He was lying on top of the captain´s cabin, his arms crossed behind his neck. Rongar was sitting nearby, his back leant against the side of the ship, his legs stretched out, tending to his knives. Truth be told, Sinbad preferred his company over that of his brother or Firouz right now because the calmness the tall warrior always displayed had a calming effect on himself. Sinbad would never have openly shown this anxiety in front of his crew, but it was there and he guessed at least his friends, including Rongar, knew. He was bitter with himself, reproaching. Deep inside he knew that there was nothing he could have possibly done against the entrancing effect of the shades, still, he didn´t like showing helplessness in any form. Losing control of a situation was something the young captain had never been able to get along with too well and the memory of how easily he had let himself lured by the shades was nagging at him, even though he had had no chance to evade their magic.

"I want to double the night guard." Sinbad said after another while of thoughtfulness not averting his gaze from the sails. "Noone of us has ever sailed in these waters before. I don´t want to add any risks." He turned his head to the side when he heard that Rongar had stopped flexing his knives. Rongar had been a member of his crew for so long that Sinbad could read a lot in the facial expressions of the other man. What he read was agreement, but also slight reproach, and he knew where that was headed. "I can find some sleep during the day." he contradicted the wordless protest. "I´ll take over part of the night shift." Rongar shot him a look that untypically bordered on stubbornness and for some reason that didn´t really add to improving Sinbad´s already not too good mood. He sat up rather abruptly, then got to his feet. It was time to give Doubar a break at the tiller, he decided, but when he turned his step towards the other end of the ship, he saw Maeve. As he had suggested earlier, she had gotten some rest, stayed in her cabin for a while only to come to the deck again later to stare out at the sea for what seemed like hours, Dermott perched on the railing close to her like a feathered guard. She had seemed so distracted and distant that Sinbad had decided it would be the best to leave her at peace for now even though he would have liked to talk to her. To be with her. Even if it meant to just stand next to her and join her in looking out onto the ocean. He was only beginning to realise how much he had missed her these last two years. It made every moment with her more precious.

He halted in his step when he saw Maeve, instinctively pausing at the look she had on her face. It was hard to sort in, but it made him worried. She had been coping with things rather well until now after she had overcome the shock of finding herself on board the day before bereft of anything she could sort in, but now there was something in her eyes, a sort of despair that made him falter. She did not seem to notice him and went straight down to her cabin. And before Sinbad could think reasonably, he followed her.

He followed her slowly, not calling out after her, not hurrying his steps as she did, because something told him that she wanted to be alone, yet he could not make up his mind to grant her that solitude. He could hear Maeve hurry along under deck towards her cabin, then how she pushed the door close, but also noticed that she must have done that with flying fingers because the lock did not snap and the door blocked, snapping back and was left ajar. Sinbad walked closer, but didn´t step in, instead reaching for the handle of the door and pushing it open a little more so he could look inside. "Maeve? Are you all right?"

He could instantly see she was not. She had entered the room just mere seconds ago, but she was now lying on her bed as if she had quickly thrown herself onto it, because her hair was looking ruffled. She had not even bothered to take off her boots and had thus messed up the bed sheets. Her face was turned towards the wall and her body was curled up slightly. Too late he noticed that she was trembling with silent sobs. But it was too late to regret or retreat. She had heard his words and her head snapped around, giving him a short moment of clear view on her reddened eyes, before she turned her face back to the wall, most obviously embarrassed and not wanting him to see her in such a state. His reason yelled at him to leave, to not add to her embarrassment, to just claim he hadn´t seen anything and leave. His instincts disagreed and won. Sinbad stepped in, leaving the door half open behind him and without a word sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking her shoulder in what he believed to be something of a comforting movement. Much to his surprise, she didn´t shake off his hand, but instead turned around, avoiding his gaze, sat up and rested her head against his neck. She seemed so vulnerable in this moment that Sinbad could feel his deepest instincts kick in. Not thinking any further he put his arms around her, hugging her to him tightly. He had the impression he could feel her troubled heart beat so fast that it felt like a fluttering bird against his chest but it might as well been illusion, or his own heart beat increasing in that moment. He closed his eyes tightly, fighting back the urge to give in to his emotions. Seeing her like this was torture, one that Rumina was most likely indulging in if she was really watching them which he did not doubt. He pushed the thought away for now, because it evoked his anger and he felt that what Maeve needed right now was calmness and comfort, nothing else.

Later, he would not be able to say how long she stayed in his embrace, crying silently against his shoulder, not even sobbing any more as she had when he had come in, just breathing unevenly and clutching to him like to dear life. She seemed so utterly lost and confused that he felt protective. It was strange, he thought with a hint of sarcasm, that in all the time they had sailed the seas together, they had never been that physically close for such a long moment. Irony could be so damn cruel.

After a long moment, she pulled back and he could see her cheeks were flushed from crying and embarrassment. She didn´t look him in the eyes and retreated a little, breaking the contact between them as if she was now seeking the distance she had not been able to endure a moment ago. "I´m sorry." she said. "I´m sorry… being all… whiny and…" she shook her head in a manner that told him she was about to get angry at herself, the flash of anger that showed in her eyes for a moment showing her typical, fierce temperament, making his heart beat a little faster.

"No." he just said, shaking his head and fighting the strong urge of reaching for her with a hand to brush away a stray strand of her hair. "You have…" What? He wondered. What to say? You have all the right to feel like this with what has happened to you? He didn´t add any more.

She seemed to shrink a little, crossing her legs, looking down at her knees. "Whatever I have…" she said, picking up on what Sinbad had meant to say. "I´m acting selfish. I´m…I… bask in self pity and put you all in danger and…" He seriously didn´t know what she was talking about even though he had some ideas. That moment yesterday when she had wanted overboard maybe or earlier? That made no sense. All he could do was scowl. "What are you talking about?" he asked, disbelief obvious in his voice. "Maeve, you saved all of us earlier. If it hadn´t been for you, we would all be dead now. The whole crew ows you their lives."

For the first time she looked him in the eye and it devastated him to see how she looked at him. As if she wanted to believe in what he said, but couldn´t. "I mean it." He emphasized his words, feeling he had to, but she didn´t smile. In return though, he did now, in fact daring to do what he had intended a moment ago. He pushed some of her red hair behind her ear. "I know it´s not easy for you." Sinbad said. "You…" the next words were hard "…don´t know me, nor anyone else here. But you can trust us, each of us."

She nodded slowly. "I think I know." she said. "you've been very kind with me." But then she shook her head again and got up, walking away to lean against the wall a bit away from him but turning to face Sinbad anyways. "…and I´m just thinking about myself and how lost I feel, forgetting how it must be for you." His heart leaped for a moment and he fell silent, before he asked. "For me?"

"You told me where we are going." Maeve clarified, reminding him of the conversation they had had on the deck. "…and I forgot about that and earlier I didn´t know. And I´m just so…" she didn´t continue but the word that would have followed couldn´t have been a too flattering one judging by the face she made. "You must be missing her so much." she said, looking at him. Sinbad held her gaze for a long moment even though it made him so uncomfortable right now. He couldn´t think of anything to say. The silence between them, for a moment, bordered on awkwardness and when he still wondered how it had gotten into her to feel bad about him ´missing his girl´ while she was in such a difficult state herself, she turned to leave.

"Don´t feel bad." he said, getting up but not stepping closer. "However did that get into your head?"

She was turned towards the door already but gave him another look. She just shook her head before she walked away, leaving him confused. Sinbad stayed in the cabin for what seemed like several minutes before he found the strength to return to the deck. He couldn´t exactly tell why, but this brief conversation had been draining. Her feelings of guilt that were totally ironic in a way since she didn´t know the girl he had been referring to was herself, her sudden emotions and turning to him, her closeness … he felt so ashamed because he knew that having her so close did not leave him unaffected and he growled at himself to think in such physical ways. It felt like taking advantage of her.

After another few long moments he made his way back towards the stairs that lead upwards. Before he pushed open the door that lead outside he could hear through some small slits in the topmost planks that Maeve was sitting on top of the cabin talking to who could possibly only be the hawk. He halted in his step, feeling bad but not able to refuse the urge of eavesdropping. And what he heard made his blood boil. "She was right Dermott." he heard her say. "I´m being unfair and selfish. She was right with everything she just said."

Sinbad clenched his jaw, trying his hardest not to show his anger when he exited the door and walked back to the tiller. "Where ever you are Rumina." he muttered between clenched teeth. "Don´t you dare play with her once again." It was one matter if Rumina tortured him with her cruel words, but if she had now passed to talking Maeve, lost, disoriented Maeve, into guilty feelings, using private things she had eavesdropped from their earlier conversation against her, he would have her head served on a silver platter, even if was the last thing he would ever do.


	13. One lucky girl

Chapter 13

**Author´s note:**

It´s been longer than I wanted things to take, but I guess posting like one chapter per week is what is likely to get settled. Work is particularly busy, so …

However, I hope the new chapter makes up for the wait and you guys like it :-)

**Stitch**:And Rongar will get more time now and then, hehe. He´s just kind of difficult to write. And I have the feeling I´m slightly neglecting Firouz even though I really like him.

**Ila88**: Aw, now don´t be possessive. We can uh… share however. You can have him even dates, me gets him odd dates? Hehe, okay, it´s getting late here I notice…anyways.. well, I thought it a logical thing. She is lost, she has noone to cling to so she turns to him or at least she has those moments when she does. He seems friendly enough to her and there is maybe also some very deep rotted feeling that she can trust him, based on the memories that she no longer has, but since he has left a lasting impression with old Maeve no doubt…

**TiaKisu:** I feel really flattered because I´m kind of a detail freak and putting a lot of detail and effort into thought and emotion scenes are a lot of fun so all the better if someone appreciates that :-)Ooh, okay, maybe I misunderstood you. I guess it doesn´t have to do with you not being a native English speaker (neither am I btw), it´s just a very small thing I think everyone missed which really isn´t a problem since that´s just what will keep things exciting I hope because the plot stays unforeseeable, he. :-)

**Space-Case7029**: Yep, I guess that´s exactly Rumina´s train of thoughts there. I can almost imagine her sitting on that weird black throne, her crystal bowl in front of her (and a bowl of popcorn) watching the two of them fight along their emotional battles while now and then she just enjoys adding a little extra pain. That´s it exactly. They left kind of an impression but of course the deeper roots of that are difficult for her to grasp.

Okay folks and now without further ado… Read, have fun, drop a line :-)

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**C****hapter 13**

**One lucky girl**

Sinbad had spent most of the night that followed the conversation he had had under deck with Maeve, outside. Not that he wouldn´t have been in need of a good bit of sleep and not that walls would hinder that witch from appearing if she so chose, but the grudge he held against Rumina had deepened if that was even possible. It seemingly wasn´t enough for her to see Maeve confused and lost and to watch him suffering over it; now she had come back to the ship it seemed, whispering poisonous lies into Maeve´s ears that were not only cruel, but also Sinbad´s own white lies turned against the woman he was seeking to protect and safe. Maeve was clearly suffering from a bad conscience and Sinbad made no illusion over it: their conversation had surely not remedied that. She still thought it was unjust to suffer, thinking he was worse mourning over a lost love. But what could he do? He couldn´t possibly tell her she was the girl he was trying to save. He didn´t even know why – he had always been honest with her (well… in all but one respect), he had never needed to mince his words about dangers around her, but his instincts told him that it would be harmful if he exposed her to that shock. ´Oh and Maeve. The girl I was referring to is you. I love you, I think you love me, you don´t remember but that´s what things are like. And by the way, you lost your soul and if we do not manage to find a place no mortal ever left alive again, you´re doomed.´ He snorted when that thought crossed his mind. Ridiculous. That knowledge might destroy her and he would not risk that.

This was also the reason that the captain of the Nomad was not sleeping but standing on deck, his arms crossed but mentally tense and ready to attack. Deep inside he feared Rumina might show up again. He didn´t fear her personally – he feared what she might reveal to Maeve. That this knowledge Rumina would most likely indulge in sharing, would drive his Maeve insane.

His nightly watch however had turned out just as useless as he had thought (but not admitted) it would be. His friends had made careful attempts about him being in dire need of sleep but had soon found that there was no sense in trying to reason the young captain and Sinbad guessed that silently they understood. And by the way, he was pretty sure that he had gotten at least some sleep during the night. Hadn´t there been that moment when he had drowsed off just some hours before sunrise? He at least believed that the stars had moved on when he had opened his eyes again and even though it was unlikely that he had slept for more than a few minutes, he stubbornly told himself that this was enough. Little sleep was a little price if it at least bore the chance of finding Hades and reclaiming Maeve´s soul. It sounded perfectly logical to him and fought off weariness better than anything could have done.

It was two hours past sunrise now. The last time he had had the chance to have a look at the necklace – their guide – was quite some hours ago but Sinbad decided to keep the direction for now. He had a good feeling about it, or as far as a good feeling could go on a journey like this. There was a small island in sight and the captain made the decision that they could afford the morning to add some things to their food and water supply. It wasn´t without risk, especially since noone of them knew these lands, but there was a risk against a bigger: some of the sailors were already in a sceptical mood since Sinbad was tense and had not yet given them a good reason about where they were headed. The danger of the mood on the Nomad shifting was bigger than what might await them on land. Sinbad had already made the decision not to get the whole crew involved with the last part of their journey, but now he still needed every man. He had to keep them in a good mood and that could easily done: with a barrel of ale and some meat and that was available on almost any island, be it one he knew or one he didn´t know. He had travelled far enough to make that a relatively safe assumption. And thus before long they tossed the anchor, the captain gave orders to return to the ship before the sun reached zenith and half of the crew trod off towards a village close the coast, cheering and laughing as sailors do. Sinbad and his friends had decided to stay near the ship this time, partly from anxiety they all knew. Which didn´t mean there wasn´t time to make use of what little leasure time that gave them and soon the rising sun found Doubar and Rongar snoozing in the shadow of a group of rocks while Firouz used the time they had for now to test a new strangely shaped tool that he had developed. Sinbad, watching him, could not tell yet what it was good for, but didn´t ask so for now.

"You must´ve been to many islands." Maeve´s voice woke him from his momentary half trance. Sinbad was sitting on one of the rocks in whose shadows his brother and friend had settled down, only noticing now that he had been lost in thought, his leg slightly pulled towards him. She was just a few paces away from him, presenting a very familiar sight and one that only added to the contradicting things he felt. She was wearing her typical dress. Not the one he had seen on her when he had first met her but one very similar to it. Keeping it a secret from the rest of the crew, Sinbad had found one very similar to hers on a bazaar in Persia a good year ago. He had bought it and stored it in her trunk. She had discovered it this morning it seemed – and decided she liked it better than the plain clothes she had been wearing ever since they had found her on that island with Rumina. She was looking every bit like her old self – no easy sight for him.

He looked up at her, sorting his thoughts and thus for a moment hesitating with his reply. "Well, since you said you´ve been a sailor since you were a boy." she explained, doing a few steps along the beach. She had left her boots next to the rocks and was in the water up to her ankles, obviously enjoying the cool water that splashed around her feet whenever a wave rolled in. She turned on the spot but shot him a glance over the shoulder. Had she been how he knew her – Maeve with a soul, Maeve in perfect mental health, that would have been the moment that he had been sure she was flirting. He might have blinked in that exact moment or looking into the dazzling sun too much, but had there been a wink? Or was he just wishing that this certain flirty expression was in her eyes, the one she had give him now and then and usually directly after one of their verbal banterings. He decided it was best for his sanity to assume she was just making conversation. "Quite some." he replied, taking a little stone (there were plenty like that closeby on the rock where he sat) and playfully tossing it into the sea. "Which one was the prettiest?" she asked and he believed to see the slightest hint of mischief glimmer in her eyes. "The prettiest?" he asked with a light chuckle. The question seemed irrelevant somehow since every country, every place – or most – had something interesting and beautiful to them, but then again… her world was small, she didn´t remember more than the last couple of days, so maybe anything he could tell her was something precious to add to her memory. "It´s hard to tell. I´ve seen many places. Most have something interesting."

She halted in her step and turned around again, tilting her head to the side a little as she did so, giving him one of her typical sceptical glances. "I bet." she said before she came a little closer. She was four or five steps away from him maybe, no further. "I wasn´t really referring to beaches or stuff like that." she said.

"Huh?" He wasn´t sure what she was talking about. After how down he had seen her the evening before, she was in an almost ridiculously good mood right now. Women, he thought only to instantly feel guilty and tell himself that with what she was going through strange mood swings would be the smallest of her worries. Not that he liked to see her smile a lot better than to have to wipe away tears.

She gave him an almost playful eyeroll. "The prettiest." she repeated, half a chuckle in her words. "woman, sailor. Aren´t you guys said to have another girl in every harbour." He was about to protest and had already opened his mouth when she gave him a wink – and this time he was sure it hadn´t been the sun blinding him – telling him she was just playing with him. Playing or rather … flirting? Was Maeve flirting with him? He couldn´t avoid his deeper instincts kick in for a moment and he instantly tried to look more casual and nonchalant … which as he even had to admit to himself had to look rather goofy with his mouth half opened in protest. "I know, I know…" she said, adding to that wink she had given him. "The girl you told me about." With a few steps she was over by his side and, still barefeet, climbed onto the rock to sit next to him. Not close enough to touch him, but close enough to make his head spin slightly. "What´s she like?" she asked. "I mean … if you don't mind me asking."

Actually, he did mind. What was he supposed to say? Look in a mirror and you´ll know exactly what she looks like? He couldn´t say that, just as he could not lie to her and make up someone else. Because that would be lying for reals. And he didn´t want that. Couldn´t. His most valued treasure was she, was Maeve, and even though he could not tell her that, not in her state, he could not tell her the some absurd lie either. It was an absurd situation. "I…I don´t know if I…"

She seemed to sense his uneasiness, well, even a rock would have since Sinbad by now had the feeling to have the word ´liar´ engraved onto his forehead in bold red letters, and she gave a little sigh, her voice sounding apologizing when she spoke. "I´m sorry, I shouldn´t have asked." She broke off; seemingly she had wanted to say more, but what he never came to know. Instead she just looked at him for a moment, until he realised he was looking down, avoiding her gaze. When he finally met her eyes, her gaze was calm, familiar. He knew he could stare into these eyes forever, and yet he mustn´t. No. Not yet. Maybe, if his wildest dreams came true and they survived this quest, maybe once she remembered him then … but not now. Even though his imagination was running far ahead of him right now and he had to force himself to stay focussed and not close the gap between their bodies from instinct. He had the impression there was something between them, drawing himself to her in a way that nearly cost him conscious effort to remain sitting upright. "It´s fine." he said, his eyes moving from her eyes down to her lips for a very brief moment before he realised what he was doing and got a grip on himself. "As you said," he managed one of his typical smirks. "you barely know me, so however could you know what to ask me and what not to?"

He took up another pebble tossing it off into the waves, more to have something to do than for actual purpose. Just to busy his hands. She smiled at his words, averting her gaze to look out at the ocean for a moment, leant backwards slightly, her body propped on her hands. "You know what?" she then asked. "What?" he asked, giving Maeve a sidewards glance. "She´s a lucky girl." she simply said, before giving him another brief glance. Then she hopped off the rock with a swift movement, leaving him no possibility to reply. Not that Sinbad, the usually selfassures, almost brazen at times captain would have had any words to reply to that.

He wanted to sax something after her but didn´t. Why, he couldn't tell and at the same time he knew all too well.

"Little brother."

He turned his head rather abruptly, startled by Doubar´s voice. He was pretty sure that had the situation been any different, he would have gotten the typical side punches from Doubar (and also from Firouz, even from Rongar even though he never spoke, but knew other ways to communicate) or some half dirty grins or hearty laughs for … well… she had been almost flirting with him, or hadn´t she. But now his brother´s face was serious. And as Sinbad sensed not just because Doubar didn't find anything to tease about the two of them these days luckily.

"I hope the crew is back by now." Sinbad just said turning his head completely. The sun had reached zenith, it was time they went back on the ship again. "No." Doubar said. "One of them is missing. Or actually, he got lost." Sinbad jumped up, suppressing a groan of half anger, half frustration. "Lost?" It wasn´t his way to leave people behind but with the stress he was exposed to these days he very well felt like doing just that. "Who?"

"One of the young ones." Doubar said. "Kareem."

"Great." Sinbad growled as he hopped down the rock. Kareem was a lad of 18, maybe 19 years. Tall and definitely strong for his age, a good worker even though not especially bright. But usually a good sailor. And reliable. Still, since there were four younger sailors with the crew, those were usually also the ones one had to keep the most careful eye on. They were young, naïve, adventurous. Hardest to keep away from wine, gambling and women. "Has anyone else seen him?" Sinbad asked, his expression rather sinister while he advised the rest of the crew to get back on board already. "Hey. You." He waved over the other three young sailors. "Who of you has been with Kareem?" They looked at each other in slight surprise. "Well he… we thought he was back already."

"He isn´t." Doubar said. "I´m sure of it."

"Those kids…" Sinbad felt anger rise inside him. Usually he might have cut the boy a slack but he didn't really like it when people didn´t obey orders he had given and being back by now had been one such order. Other than that they had more to lose than being an hour late for some delivery of luxury goods. Even though these young ones did not know.

"Doubar, get back on board." he said. "You and Firouz get everything ready to leave. He nodded over at Maeve who was not too far from them. "And take her with you as well. Rongar," The tall warrior had stepped up to them when Doubar had left his place by the rocks. "you come with me." He looked at his brother, noticing Maeve´s scowl from the corner of his eyes. "and don´t let her follow us. We´ll go look for the boy, you get on board."

"Aye" Doubar replied with a nod. "Firouz, Maeve, you heard what the captain said, let´s go." Maeve gave a slight pout but followed Doubar, but only after she had grabbed for her abandoned boots. Dermott who had been out for a hunt came back in that moment to settle on her shoulder when they walked back towards the Nomad.

_She´s a lucky girl_.´ Sinbad forced himself to think straight. They had no time to lose. Even something so much as finding a stray sailor and dragging him away from a pint of ale or from the arms of a belly dancer cost time. And time was precious. It was the second day already.

With Rongar following him closely he walked towards the village close by.


	14. Power struggles

Chapter 14

**Author´s note:**

Aaand again I took a little longer. Had no computer access yesterday evening nor too much time to write a new chapter as has become a habit on Thursday nights so this one´s a little belated. I´m noticing there are tons of idea for this story in my mind waiting to be written down so prepare for a whole lot of more chapters to come. Lotsa lotsa chapters most likely, hehe.

**Stitch**: Oh, yeah, hell he is.. :-P

**Ila88:**Well, it seems like a Maeve thing to do. Her flirting is more subtle than his definitely, but she can´t help it either, can she? Even though she would most likely never admit it. And yep, sure you´re right there. Trouble ahead. (fill in random dramatic tune here). Stories like this need trouble, mwahahaha.

**TiaKisu: **Hehe, thank you :-) Well, she´s not really finding back to her old self, or well, maybe she is, because even Maeve without her soul and thus her memory has still got a heart and personality sort of so she would not be totally distant or unreacting (if that is even a word) towards Sinbad (coughwhatgirlwouldcough). So it´s kind of her starting to fall for him again if you will which is kind of interesting to write since the circumstances are so… odd.

**Space-Case7029: **I figured that yes, she will remember those things. Her brain is like a white sheet of paper without her soul, one that has no memories but she can get new ones. Her old memories are contained inside her soul and if she was united with that again she would have both, new and old memories. Uh huh, not immediate trouble… well, actually quite immediate, but this chapter ends with a little cliffhanger, so there is more to come here.

**Note:**This chapter would have gotten really long had I not decided to end it with a cliffhanger. So it might not be the most exciting one but it´s kind of setting the stage to things that are to come.

**Chapter 14**

**Power struggles**

As Sinbad had estimated a little earlier, it wasn´t too far a walk into that village. A slope of green behind the beach, passing through a little grove of trees and always following a narrow path soon led him and Rongar directly to it. It was a rather small assembly of houses and other buildings, none higher than two storeys, most with a few exceptions as plain looking as the other, similar to many settlements one found on islands like this. Sinbad wasn´t sure if that surprised him or not seeing that they were now sailing areas he had never been to before. But as it seemed even people living in islands surrounded by unknown waters were just as normal as people were elsewhere.

When they approached the first houses, a small group of ragged looking children crowded up to them, curious about who the strangers were and most of them looking at Rongar with their mouths agape in a way that told Sinbad that this place had to be rather isolated indeed for it was obvious these children had never seen a man with black skin before. Sinbad was usually wary when he arrived at a new place and so was his crew. There had been far too many occasions when they had found themselves surrounded by farmers with pitchforks or men with sabres the moment they had stepped into a village. But this one seemed friendly enough. The children were curious but neither scared nor hostile and they got the same looks from the adults that were working here and there or walking between the houses and across the street.

Sinbad approached an eldery man and bowed for a greeting. "Greetings good man," he said politely even though he didn´t look quite as calm and patient inside "This is my friend Rongar and my name is Sinbad. We are sailors who made a stop on your beautiful shore. I am the captain of the ship we sail with." He observed the man closely as he spoke but could see no surprise or recognition in the other man´s eyes. Not that it would have hurt his pride, but it often happened that once he mentioned his name, people´s expressions changed indicating that they had heard the name before. To this man it seemed to mean nothing. Unknown waters indeed, Sinbad thought with an inner chuckle. "So I heard." the stranger said, a curious glance in his eyes but no hostility. It appeared to Sinbad these men were not used to attacks or hostile strangers which led them to act so calmly. "There were some of your men in the tavern earlier. But how can I help you, captain?" "I am looking for one of my men." Sinbad replied. "A young sailor. He did not return to the ship, so I was hoping he is still in your village."

The stranger gave a shrug. "I wouldn´t know." he said. "I just saw some of your men leave earlier. But the tavern is just a little further down the street, maybe you should look for him there. Maybe he did not leave yet." His lips curled into a somewhat proud grin. "Our ale is known for being the best on this island, I would not be astonished if he didn´t want to leave." Sinbad gave Rongar a glance that spoke openly about how he thought that maybe the ale was just the best on the island because it was the only but was careful not to let the other man notice. Rongar smirked slightly at that.

"Well, thank you then. We shall do that." Sinbad said before bowing again and walking towards the tavern.

Said tavern turned out to be a rather shabby little inn which however had a charm of its own, mostly caused by the fact that the friendliness of this village´s inhabitants seemed to transcend into the atmosphere of this little pub. It was just a little past midday now but there were quite some people here. The place was not crowded but there were a number of groups lingering around the tables with a beer and a laugh and a game of cards. Looking around, Sinbad, to his great relief, quickly found the face he was looking for. Kareem was sitting in the midst of a small group of youngsters, some his age, some older than him, a pint of ale in his hand, his other put around a relatively pretty girl one or two years his senior and obviously oblivious to the fact that the other sailors had left the place already. Briefly, Sinbad wondered why his friends had not told him they were leaving. Or had they? His expression turning quite a bit more stern, he approached the table. Seemingly he appeared more angry than he wished to, because the group interrupted their joyous conversation and some heads were turned towards the young captain. "I was expecting you back an hour ago, Kareem." Sinbad said, hating it to run after his crew like a chaperone. He flipped a silver coin from one of his pockets and it landed on the table right in front of the boy. "I reckon this is enough to pay his expenses." he said, directing his words for the owner of the inn who had looked up from his bar when Sinbad had stepped closer to the group. Giving Kareem a look that allowed no argument he turned around to leave, knowing that this glance would be enough to have the young one get up wordlessly and follow the captain. He had a good stand with his crew but everyone knew, especially the young ones, that it was a privilege to sail on the Nomad since even their captain saw it this way. A privilege that came only with the price of sticking together as a team – and obeying the captain´s orders. And as much fun and relaxed as Sinbad could be around his men, they all knew that he was the one whose orders they had to follow. And a glance like the one he had just given Kareem was a clear sign that there was no alternative than follow if one didn´t want to get into serious trouble.

Walking towards the door where Rongar was still waiting, Sinbad could hear Kareem get up and then there was the sound of a pint smashed onto a table. "I didn´t finish my ale yet, captain." Kareem´s voice sounded slightly slurred which told Sinbad he probably had had one beer too much, nonetheless he froze in his step. Then he turned around. He would not suffer disobedience in his crew. Still, what he did now was something he usually would not have done. A few more words would have been in order, something of the like, but this captain right now was living with the thought that every hour counted to save Maeve´s soul. And every man. A drunk, disobedient youngster was nothing he could accept in this situation. Without a word he walked back to the table, took Kareem by the collar and, not heeding the protest and cheers of his new companions, dragged the young sailor from his place, making the boy stumble along and curse under his breath. "Nothing to see." he told the others. "just say goodbye to Kareem and get back to your ale." He opened the door and, releasing Kareem gave the boy a push outside that made him stumble. He had to hold back his anger, telling himself that letting go of that right now would not fit his role as captain, still he was angry enough to let just that look like a good idea.

Kareem managed not to fall and regained his balance, giving Sinbad a clearly offended look. "Back. To the ship." Sinbad just said before the young man could contradict. "Now. Before I think better of it and decide to leave a stupid boy on this island." Kareem wiped his sleeve across his face. "Well, do." he said, his eyes cheeky and slightly blurred by the alcohol he had had too much of. "It´s a nice enough place."

Sinbad narrowed his eyes at the boy wondering how much ale the kid had actually had to say such a thing. He very well remembered when he had first met him and one of his friends in a port in Sicily. How eager they had been and how their eyes had been shining, almost begging him to be part of his crew. And so far none of these boys had caused any trouble. Without a word he walked on giving Rangar a meaningful glance so when the boy just remained where he was, the tall warrior grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him another shove that finally set him moving. Sinbad could hear Kareem mutter something under his breath but didn´t say any more in reply. He would get the kid onto the ship and it would probably be best to lock him in a cabin to let him sleep away his alcohol. However, they couldn´t wait that long. His men were making double shifts partly already, he needed those two additional hands to avoid exhaustion among his crew.

When they arrived back at the Nomad, Sinbad noted with grim satisfaction that at least here his authority was still intact, since the rest of the crew had followed his orders and was on board when they returned. They took the by boat and were on deck in another few minutes, even though Rongar had to more drag Kareem along than anything since either the boy was not able to climb straight being tipsy or he was just too stubborn to make things easy for him.

"Hey there, Kareem." It was one of the other youngsters, the second Sicilian, a boy named Matteo who leant his head over the railing as soon as the three of them started to climb. "Where you been buddy? We´ve been looking for you." But Kareem didn´t reply at once, just giving his friend a rather nasty look. Shortly before his feet touched the solid ground of the planks again, he looked at the other man. "Yeah…" he said, his voice a mix between a drunk drawl and a brazen snarl. "I bet you would be back here already, ready to kiss the captain´s feet." Matteo gave his friend an irritated look, but said nothing. Rongar put the young sailor he had been half dragging on board down a little harder than necessary which usually would have made Sinbad smirk, but now he was slowly losing his temper with Kareem. "No kissing feet today." he said, intent on not losing his face in front of the crew. Not because of a half drunk boy, he growled inwardly. He would deal with the kid once he had his wits pulled together again. Without further ado and deciding it would be best to get the boy some rest as soon as possible he grabbed the Kareem´s arm and shoved him across the deck. By now a small group had formed, curious where their captain and Rongar had found the young one. Glancing upwards for a moment, Sinbad could see Maeve nearby with the hawk perched on her fist, watching the scene with her eyebrows raised.

"Don´ touch me…" Kareem slurred, making an odd shake with his shoulder and arm to shake off Sinbad´s grasp. And before the captain knew what was going on, Kareem had his hand at the hilt of the dagger he carried with him at his leather belt. The knife flew into his hand, reminding Sinbad of the fact that even though he was young, the kid was rather skilled with that little blade – but so was he. Before Kareem could think of anything stupid, Sinbad had drawn his own sabre – not to actually pull up a fight, but it seemed that he needed the weapon for his own protection – by the Gods he wondered what had gotten into the boy, he could barely hold back his anger and bewilderment – and to end this stupid little quarrel for power. The boy found himself closer to a blade than he probably wished to, backed against the topmost part of the captain´s cabin, his back against the wooden wall in the Nomad´s centre before he could muster any more courage for something stupid. "You be lucky I don´t." Sinbad said, his voice stern but a lot calmer than he thought. "I will not ask you this again. I would leave you here if I had any more sense for it right now, Kareem." The boy´s eyes showed no emotion, just a stubbornness Sinbad was unused to. It hurt his pride as a captain. By Allah, he was a figure of authority here and it didn't give him too high hopes for this already hapless journey if a little ale could be enough to make that dwindle. "Down." he just said. "Go to your cabin and sleep away that ale. I expect you to be back on watch duty by midnight." He withdrew the sabre from near the boy´s throat and took the dagger away from him. Kareem would get it back in time, once he was back to normal, once the ale was out of his system and once Sinbad had given him a longer lecture about where his place in this crew was.

There was a long moment of silence between the two men, the younger and the older one, a silent battle of wills, before Kareem´s gaze flickered for a moment and he turned around – surely less elegantly than he had intended – and strolled off towards his own cabin, muttering something under his breath as he did so. Sinbad looked after him and he was not the only one. Something gave him the feeling that it would have been better not to allow the youngsters to go into that village at all. It had seemed friendly enough, sure, but if the beer they sold there had such effect... He nearly snorted.

"These young ones." Doubar stepped up to him. "No tolerance at all."

Sinbad did not reply. He knew that his brother only had the best intentions mainly to brighten his younger brother´s mood a little, but right now that didn´t work. The things on his mind were too heavy. It was day two and already things were getting difficult. He could not afford disobedience in the crew in unknown waters. If they were attacked by any sort of creature again or, whoever help them, another God or creature of similar power, was for one reason or the other indebted or wrapped around Rumina´s finger, things could soon be too difficult to handle.

"Go back to work." Sinbad just said, his words not directed at Doubar but at the sailors who were still standing there, waiting what would happen next. "Let´s see we get away from this weird place."

He did not notice the cruel smile that curled around Kareem´s lips when he closed the door that led down to his cabin. "That will certainly be interesting…" the young sailor said and the slur was gone completely from his voice just as was the staggering from his step.


	15. Kareem s sacrifice

Chapter 15

**Author´s note:**

Okay, a new chapter is up for you guys. And I guess I have to say that this chapter is rated **R**, not for any juice nice stuff concerning a certain sexy sailor though :-P However, this chapter is getting a little more… extreme, so ye be warned.

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**Ila88:**Hehe, sorry for that but me likes cliffhangers. :-D (evilgrin) Nope, he definitely isn´t. He or… someone else. Sorry for not being able to stick up to the ASAP, it was ASAP as I could manage, this week as been unsettling and busy (sighs)

**Helen of Troy**: (jumps) Whee, new reader, nice to have you around. :-D And good to know you´re enjoying it so thanks for dropping a line :-)

**Space-Case7029**: It does sound like Rumina, doesn´t it? Which is the reason why she is not, mwahaha. Or at least not directly. She´s the one to pull the strings behind the plotting but she is not the only danger and not the most grave one, heh. Well, Maeve will discover things about herself soon enough. For now people are still a little dense and things too subtle and fast paced for her to notice in time, but her hour shall come :-)

**TiaKisu: **What would a story be without trouble, eh? :-) Well, that was actually somewhat difficult to figure out especially because when watching the tv show you can not really look into his head especially regarding stuff like his role as captain. So what I did was taking climpses I got and forming them into something more pronounced, also adding the stress he´s under right now. Usually I guess he´d see it more as teamwork but with his fear for Maeve´s soul right now I guessed it would be more logical for him to demonstrate his position as the alpha male of the pack. :-P

**Mera**: Aw thanks (feels flattered and blushes) I´m trying my best, hope you keep reading and having fun with this little story. :-)

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**Chapter 15**

**Kareem´s sacrifice**

´I don´t like that. I don´t like it at all.´

Unable to completely dismiss the slight annoyance and warning in his eyes, Sinbad tore his gaze away from the group of young sailors who were gathered around Kareem in a loose group, chatting in a seemingly harmless manner. However, from the way Kareem´s voice drifted over to him in indistinguishable chunks and a word he could make out now and then the boy was obviously telling some tale – most likely making a big adventure from his small getting drunk tour in that village – having the full attention of his friends, three of them, all of them being the young men who usually hung out with him as well – once there was a time to hang out. Like now.

The Nomad had made good speed in the last hours, so at least the wind seemed on their side for now giving the captain of the Nomad at least a glimmer of a good feeling that was further strengthened by the fact that after Maeve had now obviously arranged her place with the crew, the red haired sorceress, unaware of the danger that threatened her soul, was now comfortable enough to idly rest on top of the cabin, her face turned towards the wind and sun, an image he could barely keep his gaze away from. Having her around again was a constant reminder of the fact that if he made the slightest mistake, if he did just one wrong step, he could easily fail this mission, fail her, and lose her forever. At the same time her presence was intoxicating, making him feel like the shy boy he had long ago abandoned when he had still been a kid. He had to remind himself, and not for the first time, that he shouldn´t stare at her. For Allah´s sake get a grip on yourself, he inwardly rebuked himself. Think of the condition she is in, all of you are in and she the most. It´s not appropriate to stare at her like that. Sooner or later she will notice. A tiny voice in the back of his head whispered that he wouldn´t mind her noticing at all if only that meant getting a response from her that fit with the mental images that were chasing around his thoughts. He tore his gaze away with a slight grunt directed at himself only and not heard by anyone but himself, forcing himself to look out at the sea and trying to concentrate on what he was doing. But he had been a sailor for many years so working the tiller didn´t really need too much attention.

"… tell you it is true…" Kareem´s voice drifted over to him again, carried by a stronger breeze of wind. "Or did he ever tell you where in Allah´s name we are going?" That got Sinbad´s attention and he looked over to the small group, slight tension rising inside him. He saw Matteo shrug and the other two just remain where and how they were, lazily slumped against the railing. They were clearly enjoying their shift off for now that they were making good speed and less sailors were needed for the moment. "Well, he´ll know." Sinbad heard Matteo reply. "He´s the captain you know." The reply to that was a snort. "So he has the right to keep secrets from us?" Kareem snapped back, clearly not amused and in a bad mood. "I tell you, we´re sailing right into an awful lot of danger, yesterday was bad enough wasn´t it. We could´ve all drowned and that would´ve been the end of it." Another youth shrugged, indicating that it wasn´t something unheard of to get into a little bit of danger now and then, seeing who they sailed with, however that reply did not seem to satisfy Kareem. "Mark my words." he growled. "You´ll get your heads in a sling, he won´t tell you anything and all of a sudden you´ll be right in the middle of trouble. He won´t tell you and you are so foolish you don´t even realise you are his pawns." Sinbad did not wait for a reply, did not notice that Matteo´s glance had actually turned from sceptical to slightly doubtful. "Firouz." he just said and the other man walked over to the tiller, understanding by a wave of his friend´s hand that he was to take over for a moment since the captain had to settle something. Sinbad walked over to the group, directly towards Kareem. "One more word like that" he said his voice dangerously low, no anger but clear threat in it. "one more attempt to infect others with your strange moods and those will be your last hours as a sailor, Kareem. I´m sure there are dozens of lads waiting in any random next harbour waiting to take your place." Kareem just gave him a brazen gaze in return before he turned and left, strengthening his defiance in a way by taking up some of the ropes and starting to work on the smaller sail. Sinbad knew he had not won. Whatever had gotten into the kid it seemed to settle as an unwanted pattern of behaviour and he decided to make his threat a reality if Kareem´s behaviour had not normalised before the next stop. He couldn´t need any sort of childish power struggles, especially not now.

At the same time however, he was starting to become doubtful. Was it the right thing to do that he had not yet told the crew where they were going and what was at stake for every single one of them? He didn´t make the illusion that he partly kept them unaware because as for now he needed every man or any man he could have to sail the Nomad. He was acting selfish in a way that submitted his crew to danger, this was not the way a good captain was supposed to act, but however he tossed and turned the thought he had no chance. It all came back to his reasoning that it was the only way to save Maeve. He would tell them. Somewhen. Not now. Not today.

It was an hour before sunset and the Nomad was still sailing in benevolent waters, riding on soft but powerful waves when Sinbad asked Maeve to show her the necklace again. It was glowing as strongly as ever, reassuring him that they were heading for the right direction, making him feel more at ease. Her question why the necklace helped him find the way he replied with a shrug, with a "maybe it is as you said, because you are a woman." and an additional. "it´s magic and I don´t really know much about that." This reaction obviously didn´t satisfy her, her gaze and a slightly raised eyebrow told him clearly enough, but for now she did not say more but turned her attention back to Dermott and kept ruffling his feathers softly as if she was drifting back into her own world of thoughts again. Sinbad, however much he desired to just sit next to her, talk to her and drop the one or other intended of pretended to be accidental flirtatious line, turned towards his old observation point again. If he became too much of how he had been around the old Maeve he knew, this would confuse her. So much closeness would not fit in her mind. As she saw it, they barely knew each other. Propping one leg on the railing, he looked out onto the sea, his own thoughts of troubled emotions engulfing him.

He heard steps behind him when it was almost too late. Expecting Rongar who of course would not address him when walking up from him from behind, or maybe Doubar, he turned his head and, noticing it was the young sailors, turned around in full surprise. Kareem was among them, his face showing an expression that hovered between slight amusement, curiosity and content but no positive curiosity. Rather the curiosity of a vulture that was wondering whether what was to follow would bring any profit for it. But Kareem kept quiet. It was Matteo who spoke first. "We want to know where we are going." he said, his voice clear and without the humbleness Sinbad knew from him. "If we are sailing into danger, we want to know." Sinbad turned fully and in this moment Kareem´s strange smile unsettled him greatly. What was going on with that boy or rather? What had those people on that island fed to him in their ale? "I will tell you in time." he replied, his eyes locked with Matteo, making sure the young one understood where his place in the hierarchy was. "No." It was a third boy who spoke now. "We want to know. Now." "We have been sailing day and night since the woman came back." The fourth one said with a stern voice and even though it was mostly his close circle of friends interacting with each other and Maeve it bewildered Sinbad to hear the boy call Maeve ´the woman´. That was certainly uncalled for. "We are crew. We demand to know, captain." The last word was bordering on mockery and when Matteo uttered it he did a step forward, closer to Sinbad and in silent choreography his mates followed his example, closing in on the captain, one of them even straying his hand towards the belt where he kept his dagger. Sinbad didn´t know what to feel: confusion or anger.

Clearly, Kareem had agitated his friends against him but the mere fact they acted on that impulse now was against everything that crew stood for. And the young sailor proved to be more ruthless than initially thought for within a moment Sinbad´s instincts kicked in and he made a quick movement to grab the boy´s wrist and wrestle the dagger from the boy´s hand. The young man gave a painful howl and staggered slightly, Matteo and the other boy however saw this as the signal to defend their friend whereas Kareem, as Sinbad would have noticed if his attention had not been focussed on defending himself, stepped back from the fight a little a cruel but clearly amused smile playing around his lips. Sinbad swiftly dodged a fist blow delivered by Matteo and in a moment the boy found himself flat on the back. However, it was a fight with three against one and they had gotten him by surprise. Sinbad could very well defend himself but he would not want to use his sabre against these boys for whatever had gotten into them, they were crew, he was responsible for them. The daggerless youngster had meanwhile gotten to his feet again and clambering back to his feet lunged at the captain who fought hard to keep the boy at a distance. It was only seconds after the fight had started but Sinbad noticed from the corner of an eye that Rongar and Doubar had seen what was going on and were now hurring towards him.

"Sinbad?" Maeve´s voice. She had sat up from where she had been half lying, her face wearing an expression of utter confusion and … concern? and for a moment he was distracted, not noticing that Matteo had managed to get to his feet again and grab for his own dagger, doing a swift move to approach the captain from behind, the knife raised to deliver a deadly blow. All Sinbad saw was Doubar grabbing for a knife from his belt and tossing it. Only when the weapon hissed past the capitain´s ear and struck home, making Matteo sink to the floor like a falling tree he realised that Rongar had just saved his life. His eyes wide in shock at both the sight of Matteo´s gaze breaking when he looked down at him and at the fact that this young and eager kid he had taken on board months ago and who had never stood up against him had just tried to kill him, he just stared for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. As Matteo died, his two friends froze in their step just as if they had suddenly realised what was going on and in a moment, Rongar and Doubar were over them, holding the young sailors in their grips. But someone was missing … Looking around wildly, Sinbad spotted Kareem on the other end of the ship – how in Allah´s name had he gotten there? – just a few metres from where Maeve was. With a chuckle that wasn´t his own it seemed and that sounded oddly unmatching a young boy´s voice, he was behind her, embracing her in a way that made Sinbad grit his teeth. "Discord..." he said and even though he was quite a few metres away, Sinbad could understand him when he stepped down from the tiller and towards the young sailor, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sabre. "Beautiful, beautiful discord." And with that, Kareem´s features… melted. Maeve gave a startled gasp when the grip around her slackened and turned almost fluid for a moment but the body that belonged to the boy soon reformed lying at the red head´s feet. And from it… something rose … formed … became solid. And without even having to guess all who looked upon her knew what she was. Whatever dark arts she had under her command and whatever tricks she might have worked: it seemed Rumina had gotten another deity under her command or debt. The figure rising from the motionless body of Kareem was that of a goddess. It was clear by the look in her eyes, by the way her whole being breathed power. However, even though Sinbad knew that his blade would be useless, his grip around the sabre hilt did not slacken but tightened to an extent that his knuckles showed white and his jaw clenched.

The goddess was tall and yes, Sinbad had to admit she was beautiful. Even though she had formed from the boy´s body or risen from it, (rather risen for even as she manifested her shape, Kareem was still lying motionless by Maeve´s feet) she seemed to have taken solid form by now, obviously deliberately choosing to be human sized for now. Her features were lean and slender, her skin paler than that of humans in this area of the world, her eyes a fierce and very bright green, even her irises shining in that same colour. Her hair was dark, floating around her like a mantle with every move, reminding Sinbad of the tales he had heard about Medusa with snakes as hair.

And the goddess chuckled, then laughed. "Look." she said. "Look where I got you. "Discord, your own men jumping at your throat." She floated over to the other end of the ship within the blink of an eyelid and was next to Matteo´s lifeless form within a second, brushing a hand along the dead boy´s cheek in a gesture that was very close to a caress. "Look, black man," she said, directing her words at Rongar and now floating towards him. "Look what you did to the poor, poor boy. And all just because your captain is a fool. Little Matteo was right you know. Right to attack. He will lead you…all… into… your deaths." She gave Sinbad a sidewards glance and a cruel smile. And even though he had never met this goddess, Sinbad suddenly knew who he was dealing with. The deceit, the falseness, the joy she took from the fact that the crew had split into two sides. "Eris." He said tonelessly. The Goddess of Discord. "The very same." she said, doing a mock imitation of a graceful bow and giving him a wink, her flirtatious body language appearing totally cruel under the given circumstances. "Well well, looks like the little sailor did grasp the one or other bit of knowledge after all. Knowing who Eris is. My brother will be devastated and envious because you knew me, but not him." Again she laughed.

Brother? Sinbad pieced the things together in his head. Brother. Few knew about all the widespread relatives the gods had but that could only mean that Eris´ brother was Hypnos who they had encountered just a day before.

"What do you want?" he asked his voice pressed. "Are you another god crawling under the boot of Rumina?" She shot him a glare for a moment before she regained composure. "None of your business, human." she then replied, floating close and cupping his chin with a hand for a moment in an almost affectionate gesture. "I did her a favour let´s say and quite honestly, it´s always…so…nice to see authorities crumble, friends wage against each other, sailors misbehave and try to kill… once Eris has set the grounds for a little bit of… discord." The way she talked, Sinbad caught himself thinking that indeed her and Rumina would get along well. She was different from the sorceress in outer appearance, the features of Eris seemed more eery and… softer … ironically, but still.

"It was you." Sinbad gave back, fighting the urge to brush away her hand, returning her gaze stubbornly. "Kareem would never have acted up to me like that. It was you possessing him, you…having him influence Matteo and the others."

She chuckled. "You are not as stupid as the average pirate." she said with the mock of an appreciative gesture. "Well combined, Sinbad." She retreated a little, leaning against the railing. "And oh it was worth it, every minute of it."

He was after her in a second, his sword now at the ready, the blade only inches from her throat even though he wasn't even sure whether an earthly weapon could do a goddess any harm. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn´t seek revenge for that." he said in a low and pressed voice. "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn´t carve my name into your skin for these two boys you killed."

"Two?" she gave back, not moving an inch and not showing any signs of fear. "One, good captain. One. Just Matteo." Sinbad turned his head towards Maeve and noticed with his heart making a leap that… Kareem was alive. He was moving very faintly, he could tell just as if he was waking from a deep slumber. And then he knew… Most deities had limited power when they took human form. And this one was bound to possessing this boy. She had given up that possession to take shape and reveal herself which meant that if he…. NO! he dismissed the thought again, hating himself for even thinking into that direction. Eris floated over to Maeve once more, her slender bare feet barely touching the ground. "Dark thoughts there, captain." she almost whispered, obviously taking delight in reading his mind. "dark… dark thoughts. I like it." She turned and knelt. "and you are right… if Kareem died, I could not keep myself here. If he stays alive… and even if only barely so… I will just need a couple of moments and succumb the crew to my will. Against you." Her smile became even more cruel. "How would you like it if your beautiful…mistress here tossed the next knife at you?" Maeve´s gaze that followed that was poisonous enough to kill as he noticed with a grim satisfaction. But the thought was horrifying. "Your choice captain." Eris cooed. "Wait and see your people turn against you. Kill you. Lose this battle and everything you are fighting and seeking for in this moment. Or do a quick slash. Kill the boy." She conjured a dagger and handed it to him. "Get rid of me, I know this is what you want… Sinbad." The last word was spoken in an almost loving way and even though Sinbad knew the goddess was speaking the truth (for deities were simply too powerful to feel the necessity to lie) the thought alone was terrible. It was tempting. He knew he had gotten more radical since he had found Maeve, he knew he had acted more rashly in some situations keeping in mind what was at stake. But that went too far. "No." he said his gaze locked with hers feeling terribly torn but feeling he had to stand his ground.

"No?" she gave back. "So you value this boy´s life more dearly than the life of… as a little bird whispered to me … your most prescious treasure. Well well, what a surprise. I never knew you had a liking for young sailors Sinbad."

He was in a position where there was no room to argue, just two ways to go and each one was terrible to behold, leaving him no excuses, no chances and no possibilities. Sinbad hated losing control over any given situation, there had never been anything he had hated more. He felt like he had to weigh things against one another, but he knew he didn´t have the time. And then, all of a sudden, the goddess was gone. Dumbfolded, the captain stared at thin air for a moment, before he looked around, meeting the gaze of every single one of his friends and crew who had gathered around by now, each their gazes transfixed and terrified… before he understood. Kareem was dead. With the last effort of strength that the boy had been able to muster after retiring from being possessed by the goddess… he had redeemed himself. He had taken the load off the captain´s shoulder as his bloody dagger proved, reddened by Kareem himself with the boy´s own blood.


	16. White Lies

Chapter 16

_Author´s note_

_Okay, I´m back with another chapter. This one is another relatively calm interlude, but I can tell you I already have some ideas for upcoming chapters that might get interesting, hehe._

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**Stitch**: Oy, congrats on your graduation then :-D Hehe, sure there is more trouble ahead. Makes things more interesting to read I hope ;-)

**Ila88**: Oh you bet he will be. (nods) Poor guy. (pats Sinbad´s….head….then butt) So nice to see you still like it. :-)

**Space-Case7029**: I actually only came up with that twist when writing it, so it was partly a surprise for me as well… my, that sounds slightly schizophrenic.. (scowls at self). Yep, and now the waiting hath ended. :-)

**Jimae**: (beams) Wow, a new reviewer. Thanks a lot for your nice feedback there. :-) Yeah, she still has quite a way to go, and it won´t be easy on her all the time.

**TiaKisu**: Good to see you liked the suspense :-) Hehe, that´s actually an interesting observation about the merging seasons one and two Sinbad because I never watched a single episode of season two (smirks) I partly use a character from a roleplay as a background, not played by myself, but the played by is Gesner as well and the personality of that character is similar to Sinbad´s in many way, so that´s kind of aiding me here partly.

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**Chapter 16**

**White lies**

It seemed to become a habit, Sinbad thought. It was unlike him, but he knew that in recent days he had seeked for solitude more often than was usual for him, retreating to one far end of the Nomad to just let his thoughts drift. He didn´t know the exact reason for it, didn´t realise that it was a mix of reasons leading to this sort of behaviour, partly ruling in his own fears – the fear that he would not be able to reach his destination, that they would never find the way to Hades and that all of this was just one big joke of Rumina´s to see them suffer. He told himself over and over again that after yet another encounter with an enraged deity could only mean one thing: that Rumina had a pact with them, that they were all part of their big plan. A plan with the aim to see them struggle and if they got too close to their aim, to keep them from reaching the world of the dead. Everything spoke against this being just a trap, just an illusion with nothing gained. And still, his fears caused unreasonable doubts.

But his thoughts also went into another direction. There was not a single island nearby, they were sailing land that had never been put down in maps for had it been he, Sinbad the Sailor would have known about it. No land anywhere to be seen or guessed… no solid ground to provide two boys a decent grave. No time to go back to the last island and bury them there. No time…

He closed his eyes for a moment, a hand massaging the root of his nose. The burial had been a quick one. One that those two had not deserved but it had been everything they had been able to grant them. With no island as a last home to their bodies, they had buried them in the old sailor way – and handed their bodies over to the sea. A brief, serious ceremony with the captain speaking some last words, none of them being qualified to give any ceremonous last rites, leaving Sinbad in a state of deep guilt. Right now it didn´t matter to him that with two men lost it would be harder for all of them from now on. They would be able to navigate of course. What nagged his mind, his conscience, was that he as captain should have been able to avoid this. He should not have allowed the boys to go into that village, should not have … Thoughts trailing off until they made little sense. He didn´t realise that what had happened to Kareem and Matteo had been planned, schemed by forces stronger and more powerful than him, that he had had no chance to alter this plan. All that counted for him was that he had failed these boys.

He knew Maeve had stepped up to him even though she had not made her presence known, neither by making any sound nor by addressing him. He could tell she was standing behind him and he imagined her giving him one of those half quizzical, half understanding and concerned looks she reserved for occasions when he was in doubts about something. Even Maeve without her memory had this way to look, it was rooted deeply into her personality, that look with sympathy but not pity. He didn´t like to be pitied and she had never pitied him because of anything because she had quickly after they had first met learned that he did not like to be pitied. Just as she did not want to be cut a slack because she was a woman.

Wordlessly he turned his head slightly to acknowledge her presence. Maeve read the slight encouragement in this gesture that he had not consciously known he had put into it and stepped up to him at the railing. Dermott, perched on her shoulder, spread his wings and took off into the air. Had his mood been a little less dark, Sinbad might have made a cocky remark about privacy now that the bird was gone, but like this, he just followed the hawk with his eyes before he shot the red headed sorceress a sidewards glance. How could he look into her face, he wondered. He believed to read question in her eyes that were not there, woken by the fear that she would ask more about where they were headed, about who the girl he had been referring to, was. He mustn´t tell her, it would be too much for her to handle was all his instincts told him.

"I am sorry." She said, her voice low but clearly audible over the soft rustle of waves in the fresh evening air. "It must be hard to lose someone from your crew, people you sailed with for so long."

He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes resting on the ocean. "It is." He then said. "They were too young. Too young to die. They had their whole lives ahead of them." _I should have taken better care_ was the underlying message of these words. _They were boys, I was their captain, I was responsible for them and I didn´t do my job well enough there._

"Yes." Maeve gave back, resting her elbows on the wooden brim. "but some people are destined to die young. Some fates are strange." _You could not have avoided it_, her words told him. _You are taking up a burden that is not yours to take_.

"There are ways to fight destiny." _I disagree_.

"There are some powers higher than our own." she said. _Don´t take the blame_.

Sinbad turned to face her for the first time fully now. To contradict her. "A god and a goddess." he said, his voice calm. "both out to destroy me, you, the crew. We got our heads out of the sling both times. You can defeat destiny, Maeve. You can." He turned back to the sea, his heart getting heavier as he did so. If he didn´t believe in this, without is faith in the ability to defy destiny, he would never have been strong enough to pursue his aim. He would have given up and despaired. And at the same time it was this belief that was causing his doubts and guilty feelings right now: if he had the strength and wit to find a way to the world of the dead, if he and his crew had the means to trick to deities, saving the lives of two young boys should have been possible. A doubtless proof of his failure.

She looked at him for another moment before she nodded. Her hand, and maybe she didn´t notice what she was doing herself, came to touch his, feeling smooth in comparison to the rough, weather worn wood beneath his fingers. Something inside him rejoiced at the touch, something else made him almost hold his breath. This was not the time that much was a sad and settled truth. But he could not find the strength to retreat and pull his hand away. In his own, reasonable mind he could find no excuse to deny himself the gentleness of her touch and imagine what it would be like if the world wasn´t so odd a place, if the old times had never changed. It was so nice to imagine that the biggest trouble they had on their hands was an occasional storm, some water shortage or some embarrassment and those occasional awkward moment from before she had been taken from him when they were both clumsily denying their affection in front of the others. Those had been times…

"You couldn´t have done more." She said. "It wasn´t your fault." And for a moment there was some understanding between them, a look that passed between them like it had back then. It was impossible to root somewhere back in the times they had sailed the seas together and it was none of the flirtatious looks they had exchanged now and then. It was a look that came from an understanding rooted in friendship, a friendship that had always been there, besides or coexisting with the deeper, physical and emotional attraction to each other. He opened his mouth to reply. ´I know´ he wanted to say, more as a reassurance to her than from actually meaning it and the latter was the reason why he didn´t utter those words. He wouldn´t lie to her, wouldn´t add any more lies to the one he was already carrying around with him.

She didn´t seem to expect an answer from him, just rested her hand on his for a moment, before she stepped away from the railing, down to the cabins again. If he had had some sense of humour right now, Sinbad would have found it funny that this was the moment the hawk chose to return to his mistress´ hand. Privacy. He wondered if birds had a sense for that.

He turned back to the railing again for a moment, before a thought struck him. You have been through so many dangers these days, he thought. Escaped death twice, even though you do not want to admit it. It is likely that this was not the last test to encounter if you ever reach Hades and his realm at all. "Maeve?" He had called after her before he was able to stop himself. Wouldn´t you regret all the more if something happened to you or to her? If she died in your arms because you failed and again you lost her without ever having told her how you feel? She turned her head to look at him across her shoulder, her eyes slightly questioning. "Yes?" she asked.

Wouldn´t it be just fair to tell her what this was all about? Where they were going? That she was the reason? That she was what he had referred to as his most precious treasure? He opened his mouth. And found that he was torn and as much as he hated himself for his cowardice, he couldn´t do it.

"I will need an extra hand later." Coward. Filthy liar. She nodded before she continued on her way.


	17. Like ice

**Author´s note:**

I wanted to get this chapter uploaded yesterday already but then noticed I wouldn´t get it done that night. Which turned out to be a wise decision since it got longer than I had expected it to become and I am actually relatively happy with how it turned out in the end. Even though I feel a tad evil for how I treated poor Sinbad here (goes to sit in a corner and feel bad)

**TiaKisu:** Mwahaha, oh well, little twists like that are just so much fun (evil grin)

Aw, seriously? You so should watch the first season (points at veoh which has the complete first season) So cute, those two :-) He certainly is more serious than the Sinbad I got to know from season one but then again that of course depends on the situation they are all in right now. Thanks for the compliment. :-)

**Ila88: **(hits Sinbad as well, but not too much because he still might be of some use :-P) Hehe, as if I´d tell you ;-) Plenty, you´ll have to wait and see. :-)

**Stitch:** Aw, good to hear that. A marathon, really? Oo Wow. Yeah, mine is too, I feel sorry for him as I write. :-P

**Space-Case7029:** Hm… not too sure whether I will make Dermott such a dominating plotline for it would become one if I´d make that a topic. Plus, since I never watched the second season and I heard that more background about Dermott was revealed there, I would feel to insecure writing into that direction without knowing any details. Oh well, there will be some development with Sinbad I can assure you that. Just keeping the tension high for now. :-)

**Mera:** Hehe, there ya go, I wrote wrote wrote some more. Guess it is the longest chapter yet, so I hope you enjoy :-)

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**Chapter 17**

**Like ice…**

„Do you really think it is a good idea not to tell her where we are going?"

The face of Firouz who was sitting across the table down in the captain´s cabin was a mirror image of Sinbad´s doubts. "No, I´m not." he gave back. "Of course I´m not." He was in a foul mood that was directed at noone in particular or if at anybody, then most likely at himself and rooted in his own fears and doubts.

Their conversation had taken a turn a moment ago, turning a dinner between friends into something more tense. Sinbad had not told many about his plans, just his brother and closest friends on board which meant Firouz and Rongar. And even though he knew that Firouz was right, seeing oneself confronted with his own doubts was never easy – especially not when the situation was getting really stressy and more and more so each day they sailed closer to death … literally.

Firouz´ gaze was questioning and at the same time showed a certain amount of wariness. They had sailed together for years, long enough for the other man to be able to tell where to draw the lines in a conversation. And right now, Sinbad knew that his friend was very well aware of how close he was to that invisible line. Firouz did the smarter move and added nothing. And for some reason that only added to Sinbad´s annoyance.

"What good if I told her?" he asked, not noticing that his voice was sounding less calm than he would have wished it to sound. "Think of all the things I would have to explain. She has no memory, Firouz. Of anything. Not of her life before she joined us, she doesn´t remember anything of what we´ve been through … with the crew." he caught himself in the last second. As he was talking he noticed his voice getting a bitter undertone. She had forgotten it all, the many glances they had exchanged, the seemingly accidental touches every once in a while. Their kiss. Nothing remained for her. He raked a hand through his hair. "You saw her out there the day we got her here. She would have jumped and drowned herself. Do you think it would be a clever thing to tell her she has lost her soul and we are trying to get it back?" Yes, that would be one hell of a conversation, he thought bitterly. _´Oh and by the way, try not to be screamish, woman, but just in case we don´t manage to get there in time, you´ll die.´_ No. Definitely.

"She wouldn´t be able to handle it." he added, his voice a lot calmer now.

Firouz said nothing for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. "You think it would be too much to take in all at once?"

Yes. He thought. But not just that. "She would not believe a word. Would you, in her stead?" Once he told her, she would think it a cheap trick to get closer to her. She had commented on his behaviour before so that would be a natural reaction. How unbelieving would it sound if he told her? Because if he did, he could not stop at bare description. To make everything clear to her he would have to tell her how they had been with each other. And that would make any woman wary, especially one who could not remember a thing and who had dropped a snarky remark on his advances already. His flirting that he could not cut even not in the situation they were in… no, it would be unnecessary and more than that it would destroy what little trust she had built up to him…. them… no, him these days.

He got up. Not to cut Firouz off, but because he wanted to get out of here and he didn´t even know he was more running from himself than from his friend. When he turned to leave, Firouz grabbed his arm. "You should be careful." he said. "you´re playing with fire."

Sinbad scowled. "We all are, Firouz. And I don´t expect things to get any better the next days."

"That´s not what I mean." Firouz said. "you know what she is capable of. Remember when she first came here and Master Dim Dim told her how to throw fireballs?" _Oh, vividly_, Sinbad thought, but slightly rolled his eyes even though he already had a wild guess at where his friend was heading with his words and even though he had to agree. "Maeve has forgotten what she can do." Firouz went on "but that doesn´t mean she has lost her abilities. She used them when she was with Rumina, but she was under some sort of trance there. She has forgotten she is a sorceress, Sinbad, but she still is one. What if she accidentally finds out again? She could set the whole ship aflame without wanting to." He released the captain´s arm. "I can´t tell you what to do." he said, stepping back. "I´m just warning you. It´s the same like experimenting with dangerous things. You have to be careful. And to decide if a risk really has to be taken."

The next morning came and it was colder than anyone had expected. They were used to sail in warm waters, but when Sinbad got back on deck after too little rest once again he had to find that the air had cooled down. The sun was still there but it seemed to have lost warmth. None of them came from countries that knew tough winters – with the exception of Maeve who did not remember any – and therefore they found it rather bewildering. There was an ever so slight haze over the ocean, just as if cold was rising from it. _Is that what happens when you get closer to the land of the dead_, Sinbad wondered crossing his arms to keep himself a little warmer, _does it first show like this? Warmth vanishing, then life?_ The thought triggered something and he got hasty and uneasy at the mere thought, so he ran, more than walked up the few stairs to the deck. Maeve who was standing at the railing starboard was giving him a slightly bewildered look, and he relaxed. There was no decay yet to be seen in her features, nor did the cold - that he interpreted as a clear indicator they were on the right way - show in her eyes that were as they had always been. She was wearing her usual cloak over her dress and her red hair billowing in the soft breeze formed a strange contrast to the icy blue of the water and ocean behind her, letting her appear like an icon of life odd as it was in her situation and for a moment he froze again unable to take her glance off her. She returned his gaze for a moment, unashamed, unbewildered, silent understanding and something that was bordering on affection in her eyes and even though that moment couldn´t have lasted longer than a second or two it seemed longer to him … and yet passed far too quickly.

"Take care not to stumble over your feet, sailor." she said with a slight tease in her voice and his walk unconsciously changed into a strut just as if he was trying to prove her words wrong. "You´re up early" he remarked, ignoring her tease as he stepped next to her. Maeve cast a glance up to the sails and Sinbad noticed the hawk, perched on one of the lower side masts, looking down on them before he took off to take a fly around. "I usually wake up early." she said. "I think." Her last two words bore a trace of humour and he caught himself admiring her for the way she dealt with the fact that her memory did not reach back further than a couple of days and with what lay ahead… and only then he remembered again that she knew nothing about the latter. Was Firouz right? Was it too great a risk? He juggled with the thought of telling her for a moment but quickly dismissed it.

"It´s cold." Maeve remarked and he had to fight the urge to put his arm around her to keep her warm. "I didn't know it got that cold here."

"Neither did I." Sinbad said, the triviality of their conversation almost gnawing on him. "We left known waters some days back. Whatever comes next is all one big adventure." He mustered a smile and she probably didn´t miss it was directed at her, because the glance she gave him from the side was slightly questioning as if she was thinking about something, pondering.

"You remind me…" she then said, out of the blue it seemed but he knew her better than she thought and guessed this thought had been nagging on her for longer. She had said something like that days ago already, but still his heart seemed to miss a beat at her words.

"Remind you?" he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as ever as he leant against the railing and studied her face. "Of what?" _Irony, irony. You hurt her, too, Sinbad. That´s the only thing that is still close enough to her to seem… familiar. It´s in her heart."_

"I don´t know." she said, her arms propped against the wood of the banister, her gaze travelling from the sea to him and back. "I can´t pinpoint it. It´s no memory, it´s more like… a feeling. I can´t really describe it." Her gaze was focussed on some point in the water and a slight frown appeared on her flawless features.

"What…sort of feeling?" he asked, his throat suddenly feeling dry. She paused, and when she finally opened her mouth to speak his eyes hung on her lips. But whatever she had meant to say, she never got the chance because her eyes widened.

"Sinbad, GET DOWN!"

His instincts kicked in instantly and even before she grabbed his shoulder to pull him down, even before he caught a lashing motion from the corner on his side, he was down on the planks, one hand quickly drawing his sabre. In the next second he had pushed her aside and behind him from the instinct to protect her from whatever threat there was and which he yet had to identify. It all happened so quickly that his senses had severe troubles following what was going on. Something hit the side of the ship with the force of a massive hammer making him stumble and almost fall so that only in the last second he could reach for Maeve and grab her securely around the waist. "Down," he yelled having to raise his voice to be understood because in this moment the water around them burst into life making it almost impossible to understand his voice. "Get down under deck."

But things happened so quickly none of them had a proper chance to react in any way. Before he knew what hit him something emerged from the water, something that could only be some sea beast or limb of a giant octopus. He didn´t even have the time to raise his arm with the sabre before something smashed the railing with brutal force, even ripping a solid piece off the ship´s side and hitting him square across the chest, knocking him out almost instantly. He fell, felt something grab for his ankles and half toss half drag him across the plank, bruising his arms. His sabre clattering away like a useless toy he couldn´t react fast enough. He was dragged off the ship and distantly heard someone scream. "Maeve!" he bellowed, before something hit him and his world turned dark.

What brought him back to life was no soft and slow awakening but rather a piercing pain that was both physical and emotional and that stabbed into his unsconsciousness like a dagger. "No." he heard a voice inside his mind, a cold, unpleasant voice that, to his dismay he instantly placed among the same league as those that he had heard these days coming from the mouths of malevolent deities. "No. Not so fast. Where would the fun be in all of that if you just got away that easily." His senses had started to lull just a moment ago but now they sharpened again and he could feel the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth. He opened his eyes and found his mind catching up with his senses in a split second when his brain put together missing pieces. He was being held. Held like a puppet dangling in the air, a merciless hand clutched around his throat instantly making him choke when the realisation set in and his feet, missing solid ground, started kicking thin air. His hands raised weakly and grabbed the hands that were holding him. He was slowly being choked he realised and he soon saw by whom.

She was sitting on the edge of his ship, taller than three men standing on each other´s shoulders, her grip around his throat like iron, her eyes like ice. Steel blue they were and her facial features were haggard yet of the elegant beauty that was typical for a goddess. Her hair was of an icy blue, matching the atmosphere around perfectly. Had he had an eye for it in his agony, Sinbad might have noticed the similarities in her face that gave away her relation to Hypnos and Eris, her siblings.

But Eris had had a cruel humour to call her own, this creature didn´t even know the sound of laughter. "You will not die." she told him and it sounded like a demand, letting him know that even if his organism had been on the borderline between life and death (which it might have been) it would have slipped back to life, just for the reason she commanded it to. "Not yet. You will suffer for hours. Your heart will continue beating until the sun sets and it will seem like eternity to you."

He tried to say something but all that came from his throat was a gagging choke and his feet kicked more desperately. Somewhere, astray from his pain, he could hear a woman scream and the voices of upset men roar up before a moment later they were cut off in muffled groans that resulted from loud clattering and bursting.

"Kill the captain, keep the crew alive watching him die." The cruel goddess mused. "for this will draw out their miserable lives to the maximum, letting them dwindle guidelessly before they end their miserable lives." The choking became almost unbearable, but then the hand suddenly released him and with a flick of her wrist the goddess tossed him into the sea. He gave a half surprised half painful yell. The water was colder than that of any ocean he had ever fallen into or swum in – just warm enough not to freeze he was sure, making his limbs numb the instant his clothes got soaked. In her attack, the goddess had broken part of the railing off the Nomad and the shreds of wood were not dwindling in the still waters. Sinbad´s back hit one of the remaining pieces, whether by accident or his tormenter´s intention he could not tell and he gritted his teeth, unable to suppress a tortured groan. His hands, grabbing wildly into nothing, got hold of a piece of wood and he held on to it desperately before he was able to raise his eyes up to the figure that was staring down on him mercilessly.

"Who are you?" It hurt to speak, after almost being strangled it would naturally hurt and he had the feeling his vocal cords hardly obeyed him. He felt his senses dull. "Don´t." she said and again he felt them sharpen and Sinbad noticed it was her dragging him back from the mercy of unconsciousness. She didn´t answer his question. "thus far you have come, but you shall get no further." she said, her eyes never straying from his. Not the faintest smile showed on her face and that irritated him greatly, making him utterly helpless. He knew he was witty, he knew he had his charms and in his unashamed self assurance he tended to believe that the latter might work on a goddess as well, but this one was a waste of time in that respect. She cast him a glance that told him she had no interest in him nor in what happened to him and yet she seemed to take something from the cruel game she played with him. "Let us match your death with the ambience shall we." she said and as she ended her words he felt coldness spread throughout his body. First Sinbad thought it was the cold water around him unfolding its full effect before he realised it was more than that. Using his remaining strength he tried to crawl on the piece of flotsam and as he did so felt his entire body stiffen, only belatedly realising this was caused by a thin but diamond hard layer of ice creeping up from his feet over his legs up to chest. As he looked up once more, the goddess had left her place and tossing him another careless and cold glance, floated away, leaving him like an abandoned toy. "Your death will be slow." Her voice echoed in his head, making him believe every word. He would suffer. As long as the day lasted.

As the ice found its way up his throat and then encompassed his chin fixing his head in place, he managed to turn his head and saw his friends. The crew of the Nomad had huddled at the side of the ship and his heart ached at the side of the vessel. Part of the railing had been ripped off by brutal force letting the starboard look almost wounded. The crew was bustling around and what they were doing almost made no sense in his agony, their running back and forth, Doubar getting the ropes, Firouz giving directions for the byboat and Rongar lifting the bulky row boat which luckily had stayed undamaged over the edge of the destroyed railing. All that passed him by when his gaze found what he had been looking for. Maeve stood a little aside, her eyes widened, her hands clutched around the railing where it started off again so hard that her knuckles showed white, now and then yelling something to the members of the crew but most of the time her gaze was fixed on him. She seemed restless, shocked, helpless. He wished his senses would dull to spare him the agony of the cold yet the only good thing in his world of pain was her face, her gaze. His thoughts seemed to freeze and at the same time his mind was holding on to what he saw.

He wasn´t dieing he knew, the goddess had left no doubt about the fact that she would not grant him that mercy, not yet. And he wasn´t sure right now about what he wanted, hovering between the desire for unconsciousness and his strong, unyielding will to survive that made him try to move his feet and arms desperately but to no avail for the ice would not move an inch. So there was nothing he could than lying half slumped and immobilized across the piece of railing just high enough to not have the salt water reach his face but little waves sending little gushes of water into his eyes and nose from time to time. The ice had crawled higher, now also covering his ears and dulling him out from the world, making him deaf so he could only watch his friends descend into the boat and come closer to get their captain on board. Rongar and Doubar tied ropes around his iced body hauling him back on board carefully while he, even though his mouth was uncovered, was too weak to speak, too exhausted almost to keep his eyes open. They laid him down on the planks and he let his eyes stray, feeling awfully humiliated above all of this being so terribly helpless. Soon he noticed from their looks, from the fast movements of their lips and their wild gestures that he was doomed. The ice didn´t melt and his hopes deserted him. What had he expected anyways? Surely not that things would be that easy. Not with a goddess.

Maeve pushed her way through, making her way between the sailors who made room for her, seeing that she was not in a mood to be messed with. ´Sinbad.´ He could read the utterance of his name from her lips. And then a whole gush of words that he could not read, blurted out too fast to make sense. She was scared he could tell and strange as the situation was to feel such a thing, his frozen heart leapt at the thought that it was him she was scared for. What she did then came as a surprise. She stretched out her arms and touched his shoulders. He could´n´t feel her touch through the ice but he watched her. And only a short moment after she had begun, she closed her eyes and he felt something unlikely. A trace of warmth. He held his breath unbelieving, not able to make sense of things in his pain, but grasped on to the thought of this little warm something that wound its way down from his shoulders, barely traceable. When it had found the way to his heart, the spell the goddess had cast on his mind and kept him from fainting was lifted. Sinbad sank into black unconsciousness.


	18. and fire

Chapter 18

**Author´s note: **

All right, this took quite a while but I hope this chapter will make up for it and you will bear with me since the time since the last update was far too stressy. But here´s for a shiny, brand new chapter :-)

**Glasclach**: It´s nice to see a new reader has found a way here so thanks a lot for reading :-) Aww, thanks a lot for your nice feedback there, I feel truly flattered :-) Btw, some of my stories are not even translated into English but just written in English rightaway, just like this one. There is no German original, this is the original. Well I´ll see what I can do about a the happy ending. ;-)

**TiaKisu**: Oooh, got you wrong then, understood. Hehe, like to see him suffer? Hm… no actually, but sometimes it´s fun to toy with him a little. I promise to put him back unharmed once I´m done with him :-D

**Ila88**: You´ll find out who she is in this chapter :-) Yep, she is and it will complicate things a little…

**Space-Case7029**: Yeah, I read some fanfics about that as well. I´ll see not yet sure where to head with Dermott here or how large his role is going to be in the whole thing.

**Raylan**: Another new face, nice to have you around :-) (bows) Yep, that´s what happened. Nice to see you´re enjoying it. Hope you´ll stay tuned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Chapter 18**

…**and fire**

His way back to consciousness was strange. Strangely normal, like waking up from a moderate time of sleep and yet his whole body hurt like it had gone through some painful ordeal – and being almost frozen to death surely went into that category. Sinbad opened his eyes and while his senses with surprising sharpness at once took in that he was in his own cabin under deck, when he tried to push himself up higher onto his elbows his efforts were rewarded with his limbs protesting in harsh pain. He gritted his teeth but didn´t sink back, forcing himself to focus.

"Don´t." An all too familiar voice coming from somewhere out if his eyes´ focus, making him turn his head at her only to be punished with more pain that he unsuccessfully tried to hide behind a nonchalant expression. "You´ll overtax yourself." Too late for that.

"Maeve?" His voice sounded strange, raspy as if there had been something wrong with his vocal cords and he understood that the pain did result from the fact that he had not just been frozen from the outside. Whoever she had been, she had meant business that had almost cost him his life.

Maeve must have been sitting somewhere near his bedside, on a small wooden stool next to his bed actually and when he met her gaze he noticed something in her eyes that made his heart ache and leap at the same time: worry. He could tell however, that she was intent on not showing too much of it, since he read the same determination in her features that he had grown to know and love… and see as a challenge. "You´ve been out for an hour." she said, getting up to cross the room and he made out a little stove in the dim light that filtered in from outside. The sun had travelled quite a bit.

Maeve got something from the stove and poured it into a tin cup before crossing the room once more and handing the steaming liquid for him. He gave her a half quizzical, half curious look. "What´s this?" he asked, something ringing a bell at his thoughts. The last thing he had felt before he had lost his consciousness had been warmth – warmth that had undoubtfully emanated from her and not in a natural way. This could only mean one thing: she still had it in her, just as Firouz had guessed, but instead of causing accidents out of ignorance as his friend had feared, Maeve´s powers had saved his life as it seemed. He wondered whether the liquid she handed to him now had been made by her as well and whether that either meant she had full access to her magic powers now or whether she was merely experimenting … which againg made him wonder if it was actually a good idea to drink this. She however, took away those insecurities.

"Something the curly head made." she said, causing a raised eyebrow from the captain. "Firouz?" he helped her since he could tell she had not avoided the other man´s name for jest but because she was only recently memorizing the names of the crew again. It was strange, even though he knew it was something he should not be astonished about any more. She gave a nod. "Yes." she said. "he said it´ll help."

Sinbad gave the steaming cup another look. The liquid smelled okay and was probably just some hot liqueur mixed with a few herbs since Firouz was not really skilled in healing. For a moment he pondered setting the cup aside, but then decided that the feeling in his limbs and inside was still too chilly to consider something like this. If anything, nothing worse could come from it. He put the cup to his lips and drank it in a few careful gulps. It seemed to burn its way down his throat, making him wince almost, but he kept his expression in check – no doubt only because Maeve was watching him. ´Show off´, an inner voice scolded him.

"What exactly happened." he asked after a moment, before the silence between them could turn uncomfortable. "I remember everything, it just doesn´t make too much sense to me. Who was she?" Maeve gave a little shrug, leaning forward on the stool slightly, her palms pressed flat against the seat, the same thoughtful expression on her face that he knew so well. Oh all the things he remembered, he thought with an inward sigh, all the tiny details about the way she moved and talked that he had memorized all these two years and that he now could see again without her even knowing he knew them so well. It nearly made his heart ache. "I don´t know." She said. "But I heard some of the sailors whisper. They said she was a goddess." Well, Sinbad thought, that wasn´t much of a surprise. She wasn´t the first malevolent deity to cross their path these last few days. "She didn´t seem familiar." He noticed and, not heeding any comments she might make, swung his legs around to side astride the bed, leaning back against the wall, crossing his arms across his chest in thought. She gave him a look that bore a trace of mockery and clearly told him an oh-and-how-comes-there-is-a-deity-you-haven´t-come-across-yet-great-captain but which he pointedly ignored. She didn´t comment on it either. "One of the sailors mentioned her name. It was Ker."

"Ker?" Sinbad scowled, the name ringing a very distant bell.

"She is a goddess not as well known." Maeve helped him illustrate his pondering. "most associate her with painful death I heard them say." That made perfect sense, he thought with an inward scoff. It explained her cruelty and the close to perversion attitude she had displayed, not granting him any possibility to defend himself nor toying with him, just subduing him to slow and excruciating suffering.

"Well,…" he said, giving her a sideward glance. "I should be glad you were there to spare me that." Oh how glad he was she was there, he continued in thought. She didn´t meet his gaze, her body language had not changed, displaying the same, somewhat tense position as it had shown a moment ago, her gaze fixed somewhere in thin air. "How did I do this?" she asked and therefore not really picking up on his words indirect gratefulness. "I…did something and it felt natural, only I can´t explain what it was. It should have scared me but it didn´t." He fell silent, unsure about what to say. And what could he possibly say. Other than a lie, other than saying something stupid like… "I don´t know." He wanted to slap himself. Hard.

Now she did raise her eyes and looked at him directly. Giving him a long, almost penetrating look from those soft hazel eyes now showing little softness but all the more determination. It almost seemed to him she could read his mind like this, dig through his memory. And he knew why. She was starting to suspect something. She was beginning to wonder if he knew more than he admitted. Probably also asked herself whether his whole attitude he displayed towards her rooted in the fact that he knew her… somehow… even though she could not make sense of things like these. And then she said it, confirming his suspicions. "If I remembered anything but a few days back... I´m sure I could say I´ve met better liars than you."

He tried to keep things nonchalant, spreading his arms in an innocent gesture. "Liar?" he asked, feeling bad as he did so.

"Oh, don´t play innocent Sinbad." She half hissed at him, anger suddenly blazing in her eyes as she rose to her feet abruptly, leaving him to have to look up to her. "There is something going on with me and I think you know more about it. Tell me, Sinbad!"

He could do nothing but look at her, his mouth open in an expression that seemed almost helpless. What could he tell her? He mustn´t. What if he did and she…

She gave him a glare before she whirled around, not leaving him more time to make up some pointless excuse. He sat there helplessly, hating himself for it, watching her stomp through the cabin and slam the door shut behind her. When she was gone, Sinbad let himself sink back on his back with an annoyed growl, pressing the backs of his hands against his eyes in frustration. Idiot, he thought. You´re such an idiot.

After a few minutes he couldn´t stand the silence any more. Still lying on his bed, Sinbad began to wonder if it was really such a good idea to keep everything from her. He only meant to protect her, he would have done so even if he had to give his life for her but wasn´t Firouz right in a way by claiming that maybe this wasn´t the best way? He found he couldn´t really come to a conclusion about things and decided to do something unhealthy – shrug it off, push it away. He sat up again and put on his boots before he left the cabin.

Maeve was sitting on top of one of the other cabins, furthest away from his own which clearly indicated she was angry and that she chose distance because there wasn´t anywhere to run or hide on the Nomad. She noticed him stepping into the open but only tossed him a glance before returning her eyes to the sea again. And for a brief moment he considered accepting that by doing what she clearly wanted him to do and leave her alone. But when he stood there, looking at her he noticed he couldn´t. Every instinct spoke against it. For another moment he paused, then he walked towards her. He knew she took notice of him but only gave him a very brief look when he stepped towards the banister but then decided against it and sat down on the top of the cabin, granting her enough space not to find him intrusive … which was beyond possible anyways, he thought. She did not look at him for a whole while, her eyes just once of twice darting into his direction but her expression never admitting these moments of her attention straying over to him. Sinbad managed to endure the silence for a while, finding that back when she had still sailed with them there had been moments as well when not a single word passed between them for minutes, just silence. This however, was another sort of silence. This one was uncomfortable and making him feel awkward. He didn´t need any more of this. He wanted to end the silence, to say something but found that anything that would have been appropriate headed into a direction that he had decided to avoid around her. After another moment that felt longer than it actually was, it was her to speak first, her gaze still fixed on the slowly travelling waves.

"What was it that I did to you?" she asked. "What was happening there?" Sinbad knew at once what she was referring to.

"Magic." he replied. The answer was true and simple and could be interpreted as the simple observation of a man who had seen things like that in his life several times already and was now merely putting two and two together, it did not betray anything along the lines of him knowing her.

"I can do magic?" her words had probably been meant like a question but sounded more like a statement.

"I guess so." Sinbad countered in an unsuccessful attempt of letting things sound just as if a sudden display of magical powers wasn´t anything unusual at all. She said nothing for another while, just taking in his words as it seemed, obviously trying to piece together this new sort of knowledge with what little she knew about her past. Obviously she didn´t come to a logical conclusion because her expression changed from thoughtfulness to annoyance.

"What else do you know about me?" she nearly snapped at him, making him almost flinch because of the abruptness of her change in tone. His confusion had to be obvious in his eyes for she took up on that at once. "And don´t tell me there is nothing to know." She continued. "I don´t know anything yet there is you who…." She had jumped up from her improvised seat, standing oposit of him now, her fists against her hips in a gesture of defiance and denial.

"I don´t know what you want me to tell you, Maeve." He said, trying to explain and at the same time feeling like the most dreadful of hypocrates. If course he knew. He knew perfectly well. She wanted her past back and not knowing about it was starting to annoy her massively, making her react like this, with frustration and anger. It was only to understandable, yet he felt there was little he could do. He feared that if he told her not only would the news shock her but also would this put her into even graver danger and with the slim chance… if there evenwas one… to reach the real of Hades, there was a tiny bit of hope he was clinging on to. Above everything, he did not want to lose her again. And more than anything he feared that just that could happen. He had to avoid it at all costs.

She gave a small sound of frustration and annoyance that was clearly directed towards him. "Stop telling me this." She demanded. "I… I have the feeling that you know more. That you could tell me things about myself. Why don´t you? Why…"

She did not come around to finishing the question because right in that moment Doubar´s roaring deep voice sounded across the deck, telling Sinbad he was needed at the tiller. His brother´s call came somewhat like a relief even though he felt bad. He turned his head to nod over to his brother and to indicate that he was going to be over in a moment. Right after he had had another look at the shredded maps in his cabin and he decided to do this now, having found an excuse to avoid the presence of the woman who above everything in the world he wanted to be with most.

He gave her a half apologetic look before turning towards his cabin and jogging down the few stairs. He nearly slammed the door behind him in anger directed against himself. The situation was getting more and more difficult by the minute. Not because there had been three gods already and the last one had been a particularly nasty species, but mainly because he would soon be in a strange situation with Maeve, one where she would simply know there was more to the two of them as in that he had more of a background knowledge about her. She would no doubt try to make him talk about this sort of memory and he didn´t like that thought. They had not reached Hade´s realm yet, it was still quite a way and some sunsets and sunrises to go until then.

He forced himself to concentrate and raking a hand through his hair somewhat shakily had to give the map and second and then third look, something unfamiliar to him since usually reading nautic maps was something utterly natural to him.

And then there was a sound behind him and he did not even have to turn his head to know who had just stepped in. However, he did. Of course he did. He did not know what he had excepted. Probably everything from a severely shocked and own to tears Maeve up her being the personification of stubbornness. Still, funnily enough he read none of that on her face. Just something else that was very, very difficult to place and therefore he abandoned the task of doing this.

She did not utter any accusations but he could read the why-did-you-leave-without-giving-me-an-answer-to-my-damn-question cleaely on her forehead. He just turned, map still in the one hand, his body still for the most part facing the table with the old documents spread on it.

"I don´t know what´s going on." She just said. "I don´t know what´s happening. I think I´ve never seen your face and never heard you talk in that… terrible… know it all manner…" She was clearly putting some effort into this and it made him smile almost involuntary but he stifled that smile before it showed."I have no idea who you are Sinbad, but I think something of me knows?"

"Something?" he heard himself say. "What… what do you mean by this."

"I might just have to find out." She said and before he could make up his mind about these words, she had crossed the little distance between them, had grabbed him by his shirt in a somewhat…. Questioning yet demanding manner and placed her lips firmly on his. He stood transfixed for a moment, a moment that seemed to last and last, before a tiny thought flickered through the back of his mind: he couldn´t help but approve of her methods of ´finding out´.


	19. Struggles

Chapter 19

**Author´s note:**

_Okay, this was a really long interval between updates and I´m sorry having kept you guys waiting for so long. The school year was coming to an end and things were stressy. But now I´m back with a new chapter and I hope that´ll make up for the long wait :-) Btw, thankees for the people adding this story to their fav and alert lists! :-D_

**glasclach**

Hehe, yeah, it would be mean for him to take advantage. :-P

About his reluctance to tell her. I think it merely results from having been without her for two years now and now that he knows what danger she is in he is just so scared to lose her that he wants to keep all harm from her which again nearly blinds him of the fact that she most likely can deal with more than she wants to admit. And then there is the fear that she will not believe him and reject him which adds to that.

I guess you´re right about Firouz, guess I didn´t do him justice there, my fault, ick (goes to hide from pouting Firouz´)

**MagicalMoonStar**

Heh, thanks :) Hope you keep enjoying it.

**Space-Case-7929**

(snickers) He sure could do that but that would lead into just the direction he´s afraid of – scaring her. As much as he likes to tease her now and then. ;) He´d not risk her getting even more desperate and confused. :-)

**Ila88**

Don´t we all hope for the latter? :-P So… well… later maybe (feels mean) ;-)

**TiaKisu**

Now I feel like I have to have Firouz prove his skills in some later chapter just to set right my injustice there (pats Firouz´ head apologetically).

Yes, it was a little off character but then again she did not know how to get through to him so to say and people at a loss tend to do things that are unlike them. I hope that somehow came across in the chapter :-) Thanks for the kudos :-)

**Jimae**

Aww, thanks (blushes). There are still quite some chapters until an ending, so…. Patience ;-) Never watched season two and I´m not sure if I should be happy or sad about it.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 19**

**Struggles**

Sinbad didn´t know how long the moment lasted. Incredibly long, as if the world had stopped turning, the touch of her lips on his reducing the universe to the little spot where they touched, bringing everything else to a halt and tossing it out into the void of no meaning and no sense. Incredibly long also because the fight that was raging inside him seemed to go on for ages. His body yearned to give in, to surrender to the sweet touch of her lips instantly, to respond by wrapping his arms around her slender frame and pull her close and not let her go, just answer to what everything his head and mind was begging for, had been begging for for so long. But there was something keeping him from doing just that, something that was maybe an untypical thing for Sinbad to listen to: reason. _By all the gods, what are you doing there Sinbad?_ The question cut into his blurred senses like a knife, annoying him but not allowing to be pushed aside. He knew the reason for it. That inner voice was right. What was he doing? Well, the answer was simple really, but it was just … the struggle was almost too much to bear. His deepest instincts were demanding to respond, his reason was strongly opting against. _How can you do this you sly fool? Taking advantage of her like this? She can´t even think straight, she has no idea what she is doing and yet… oh by Hades she does know what she is doing after all, it´s all so easy, why push her away when…_

"Maeve…"

He had done a small step away and it cost him a lot of effort, knowing he had been the blink of an eye from not being able to do so any more, to pull away from her touch, the warmth of her body, the … no. The moment had not lasted for longer than a few seconds and he was very well aware that he had started to respond to her kiss. He had been just on the brink of getting totally lost in it, just so close to …

Her eyes fluttered open and again he could not sort in the look in her eyes, different from just a moment ago. She met his gaze, saying nothing and even though just a second or two passed, it was one of the most awkward moments they had ever shared. Unlike that kiss two years back when they had both been so embarrassed afterwards. It was worse now, far worse. He knew it had been totally unlike Maeve to act like this, to kiss him, especially in a moment like this and this could only mean that she was confused to a point by now that nearly drove her mad. And he as well knew that he was the reason for it. It gave him a terrible feeling of guilt. "Maeve, you…" What he had wanted to say he never even got to know himself. She averted her eyes for a moment, obviously more aware to their surroundings than he was himself before she tossed a hasty glance across her shoulder. When Sinbad´s mind focussed a little, he knew why: Firouz had frozen in the doorframe and from the look on the other man´s face, he had seen what had happened. It seemed like his friend had caught the bantering back on deck and had followed them to see if things were okay. And even though the other man was tactful enough to regain his composure again after a short moment and attempted to silently retreat, they had now both seen him. Without giving him another look, but the embarrassed and humiliated flush on her face obvious even from the side, Maeve turned and left the cabin in a rush before he could even muster something more convenient than calling her name after her. But the harshness of her strut was almost intimidating, making his own step falter. She opened the door and he could see Firouz nearly leap aside since he had only half way retreated by now before she vanished into the direction of the ship´s back. Only seconds had passed since the kiss. The sound of her name still on his lips, Sinbad attempted to follow her. Firouz caught his arm when he exited the cabin and he tried to shrug it off.

"Give her a moment. She´s confused." the other man said giving him a look that bore a very faint trace of something Sinbad did not like because it made him feel guilty.

"So I figured." he half growled, feeling no anger against Maeve but his own confusion almost turning against his friend. Firouz replied nothing for a moment before he opened his mouth. Sure to know what it was that would come next, Sinbad took his free hand to loosen Firouz´ grip. "Don´t even ask." he said. "I didn´t do anything." Not that he was obliged to answer to his crew, by the seas, what had things come to?

"I didn´t even say so." Firouz replied with his voice slightly raised because Sinbad was already half on his way again. He knew there was surely more that his friend was about to tell him but didn´t merely for the reason that he wouldn´t want to seem disrespectful or yell things across the distance of the ship since the way the captain walked away showed he was not intent on a conversation on the matter. He could feel Firouz´ eyes on his back or at least thought that he could and resisted the urge to turn around and tell the other man to mind his own business before he realised that he was acting in the heat of the moment. He stopped in his tracks, not turning, but his eyes searching Maeve. She had retreated to the furthermost end of the ship, facing away from him. What had happened those past few moments, he wondered. What had been going on inside him that had made him so confused and angry in a matter of seconds, almost ready to start a full fledged and equally stupid fight with Firouz? He didn´t manage to come to any answer that was completely satisfying, but maybe, no, surely, part of the reason was that he wished things were not that complicated. More than anything he wished that there would have been no need for his reason to kick in and hold him back and his mind was coming up with vivid images of how things might have turned out had the situation been another, had he been free and able to return what Maeve had started. But then again, he thought with a trace of bitterness, the only reason Maeve had kissed him had been because this had been a helpless attempt of getting answers he was unwilling to grant her, which again would not have been necessary if she had not been in the situation she was in now. Like this, being that desperate and her not even knowing why and what was going on with her, he felt shabby for even having those clearly physical thoughts about her. It was ruthless, he told himself and his inner voice called him a lecherous idiot.

He had remained standing there motionless for what he now realised about ten or so seconds, so before people could start turning their heads and wonder about the strange behaviour of their captain (those that weren´t already that was) he shrugged off all of these thoughts and walked towards the other end of the ship, making a decision with every step. And with every step he realised that he had indeed been every bit the idiot he had just inwardly called himself. He had made things worse and in this moment he actually wondered what would happened if he kept being that uptight around her. It had shown him that this was unlikely to lead anywhere good so in that moment, shortly before Maeve tossed him half a glance across her shoulder before she looked back out at the sea again, Sinbad decided that his hide and seek had gone too far. There were only days left, so few hours until possibly everything was lost. Someone had once said that it was best to live life as if it would be over soon. He had lived like that a lot and now, he thought, it was time to live up to it. There wasn´t possibly anything he could make worse… only not doing anything possibly could have that effect.

Not addressing her he just walked up to where Maeve was standing by the railing, her arms crossed defiantly. Not heeding that gesture, nor looking at her, he leant against the wood, looked out at the ocean and propped his weight on his elbows. "I once sailed to an island called the Isle of Dawn." he said, his voice calm, sounding almost like that of a story teller. He did not turn to look if she showed any reaction to his words but since he heard no footfall he found it safe to assume that at least she was not leaving. "I needed the help of a friend and I found him there." Again he paused for a brief moment, unable to avoid the memories coming back. Had he not been so annoyed with himself right now, he would have smiled. "When I arrived at that island I got welcomed by his apprentice. We soon left again because my crew and I were looking for the fiancé of the prince of Baghdad and that friend of mine and the apprentice joined us. Things got into quite some trouble, my friend disappeared in a stormy night and the apprentice stayed. She sailed with me and my crew and she became part of the crew."

Maeve had stayed silent while he had been talking, but at the last sentence she perked up. "She?" she said, the word sounding half like a statement and half like a question. "Yes." he just gave back. "My friend, master Dim Dim had taught her some magic. It didn´t work that well all the time, but she did have some talent…" He couldn´t help a slight smirk at the side punch even though she had not shown any indication yet that she knew who he was talking about. He had half hoped that Dim Dim´s name would result in recognition but didn´t since she remained silent for a moment. He turned to face her and noticed her face was still tense, her arms were still crossed in front of her chest. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked after a moment but her glance was very wary by now. "Since she is not here now." Sinbad gave her a long look, partly wondering how to best break it to her, partly thinking that she really had to be deep into forgetting if she didn´t piece things together by now. "She was washed overboard two years ago." he continued, not heeding her question but leaning his back against the railing in a relaxed manner that did not betray the fact that his palms were getting sweaty. "None of us saw her again."

The stubbornness that had been in her eyes a moment ago was almost completely gone.

"That´s… sad." she then said in a low voice and he barely wondered how she came to that conclusion since he had not told her anything much, nothing of all that had been going on between them.

"Until a few days ago." Sinbad added. "I came to another island and there she was. And she… didn´t remember anyone of us." _Me. She didn´t remember me_. He didn´t say it out loud, it was hard enough to speak anyways and he didn´t want his work to break at any cost. "She knew nothing any more. Barely her name, none of the names she had known." _None of the faces, not the face she had looked at with that special look in her eyes… _

She had turned away from him, but not in anger, more in a way that evoked the wish in him to just walk over to her and hug her, tell her all would be fine. Instead he talked on. "I didn´t tell her, because I didn´t want to scare her." he said. "It´s maybe difficult to understand for her, but I thought it would be the wisest thing to do."

She said nothing just averted her gaze and he was almost certain he could see the struggle that was going on in her head. "How long did I sail with you?" she finally asked.

"More than a year." he replied. He knew the exact number of days just as he could have told her the exact number of days of her absence but he did not say so. That was too much for now and she would be right to be scared by that.

Now she turned to face him, the look on her face hard to tell. "This is so strange." she said, not indicating with a single word whether she believed him or not but when she talked he knew the answer to that. "I….walk around here and everyone knows me… I… I don´t remember a single face. I don´t even know how often I talked to you or the others. Where we went, what I saw." It seemed difficult for her to put things together, but she was taking it easier than he had feared she would. Maybe she had already started to guess. He returned her glance, saying nothing for the moment. She sounded like she was in need to vent something so he would not interrupt. But she was done it seemed, or simply had no energy to go on right now, he could not tell. Maeve fell silent and brushed a hand through her hair. "I don´t remember anything." she said. "Not just about being on this ship, but nothing about my life at all. I don´t know where I grew up or who my friends are… nothing." She turned to face him again. "I don´t know where I belong."

It was on the tip of his tongue to reply to her that she belonged here, with him, but he cut that back. "You´re safe here." he said instead. "We´ll take care of you." It sounded off in a way, not what he had intended to say, which was surely resulting from the fact that he was evaluating words in his mind cutting out all those that were giving away too much about… them. What he got in reply was a long look that bordered on being quizzical and then a short nod. She didn´t say any more to it, did not ask him whether things would change, whether she would at some point remember more. That would have been unlike her and her personality had not changed, keeping that same proud and self assured element he had always admired and that was reluctant of just being the average girl to lean on his shoulder for support. Right now that saved him a lot and apart from this he figured that maybe it was not necessary to tell her about the details at all… yet. He did not want to lose her trust and telling her what she was to him would surely sound like he was trying to make advances. A few days, he thought in a sudden rush of optimism. A few days and things would be fine… yes, they would be.

A moment of silence passed between them, then she said without looking at him. "I´m sorry for earlier. I didn´t know what I was doing." She didn´t sound apologetic but he could tell she said that, because it had been nagging on her mind. Which, despite all the strange things and all the depressing matter going on was … rather nice to know. He rebuked himself for it but he couldn´t help a small smirk at her words. Which, of course, she just had to see. Even from the corners of his eyes he could tell that her posture was getting more defiant again as one of her eyebrows rose. "Oh, come off it." she nearly snapped, sounding very much like the old Maeve.

"Off what?" he stupidly asked, his smirk becoming a little more pronounced when he turned to face her nonchalantly opening his arms in an amused I-really-don´t-know-what-you´re-playing-at gesture. Her reply came in an almost snort. "Don´t give me that cocky look."

"No need for being cocky," he gave back. "just admit you wanted it."

For some reason, the mood had taken on a completely different turn in the last few seconds and he could not even tell why, not that he did not like it. It reminded him a lot of how things had once been between them.

"Did not." she said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Did too." Sinbad retorted, simply to tease her.

"Not."

"Too."

"Not."

He heard someone clear his throat behind him and turned. Doubar was standing a few metres behind him, his expression somewhere between bewilderment and amusement. "Sorry to interrupt." he said. "but there is something you should have a look at, little brother."

Sinbad gave Maeve a glance that was bordering on mischievousness, mouthed another ´too´ and turned to follow Doubar.


	20. Flotsam

Chapter 20

**Author´s note:**

Okay, that was quite some time I took for an update, sorry. As an excuse and explanation that hopefully will be accept with not too much pouting: ;-) I was on vacation… or rather … vacations. Two. Which meant I didn´t really have internet access nor proper time for writing and yeah… but here ye go with another brand new chapter. Hope you keep enjoying. :-)

**TiaKisu**

I was referring to just that episode, yeah. Love them bickering too and I thought it was about time for them to have a brief moment of nonsense bickering. ;-) Aw well, you´ll see what they´re about to discover and if it´s yet another terrible thing. Or not. Hope you enjoy :-)

**DeadRav**

Aww thanks :-) I actually only watched season 1. Therefore, season 2 only happened very rudimentally (flaps arms because she doesn´t really have much of an idea of what´s been going on there apart from the show producers getting rid of Maeve and trying to give Sinbad a more badass outfit and attitude)

**Ila88**

Hehe, no, course he can´t. One of the reasons we adore him, isn´t it? :-P

Yeah, Firouz is having really bad luck there these days. That ship´s simply too small by the looks of it.

**Raylan**

Hm… the idea is actually rather intriguing, but the prob is that I didn´t watch anything of season 2, so I wouldn´t feel…competent to write things out that way cause I´m sort of writing in thin air, basing stuff on things I don´t really know exactly, see? But your idea as such is really cool.

 Never mind. I know how it goes with stress at school and such )is one of the reasons why students have stress going on with school even though she´s usually decent on her amount of homework)(mwahaha)

Aw, thankees! :-)

**Tai:**

Yeah, I was trying to get a connection to "old times" there. :-) Welcome to my story and thanks for reading. Hope you´ll keep enjoying it.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 20**

**Flotsam**

Sinbad was glad and at the same time annoyed at his brother´s interruption of their little banter. Glad because it gave him the opportunity to walk away with his head raised high in the sure knowledge of having gone out of that little fun conversation with verbal victory claimed for himself. Annoyed because… well, that part had to be pretty obvious. And the annoyance part was further stressed as his foot nearly got caught in a lose end of rope making him stumble like a young lad who had just had his first day on the open sea. He could hear Maeve give a triumphant chuckle behind him and caught her smirk from the corner of his eye when he turned over his shoulder to see Dermot perched on her hand again. There was a faint smile around her lips which faded as soon as she caught his glance, but he had seen it and his smirk grew all the wider making up for the embarrassment of his feet getting caught in the rope. Doubar didn´t comment on the situation thankfully which allowed Sinbad to swiftly get back to business. "So what´s the matter?" he asked fighting the urge of doing another over-the-shoulder-glance.

"Rongar spotted something out on the sea north." his brother informed him. "might be just a piece of flotsam." They reached the railing to the other side of the Nomad where the black warrior was standing already looking out onto the relatively calm waters. Sinbad joined the other man and narrowed his eyes. There was something out on the ocean but he could not make out what it was. Until Firouz stepped next to him that was, handing him a telescope. As the captain looked through it, suspicion became certainty. "This is no flotsam." he said. "there´s someone clinging to it."

It was probably luck that wind meant well with them which made it relatively easy for the crew to stir the ship into the direction of the lone person overboard. Still it took them the better part of the next hour until Sinbad could make out more details. And then his concern grew: the person clinging to a piece of wooden plank was no sailor – or if he was he had to be a very young one. The lad who clung to the half rotten wood could barely be much older than seven or eight years and had probably only survived because he was half lying on the plank which was not big enough to keep him out of the water and dry, but strong enough to support his weight. Which was a lucky fact, since by the looks of it, the child was barely conscious, eyeing the approaching ship through bleary eyes swollen from the sun on salt watered eye lids. Sinbad was almost certain the boy only noticed the Nomad approach since it went between him and the sun. The boy raised a hand maybe from habit of shading his eyes which nearly caused him to slide off the plank he was rested on. "Wait." Sinbad shouted. "Don´t move. We´ll get you out."

Tossing the child a rope was out of question since it was obvious the boy would be too weak to grab it let alone get a fast enough grip on the other end to be hurled on board. The dilemma was solved before it became a problem however since before Sinbad could do anything else, Rongar silently placed his knife belt to the side and leapt over board. It was no dangerous thing to do since the sea was calm and after Sinbad had tossed the other man a rope and he had tied it around the boy´s waist, they were both on board within a matter of moments.

When Sinbad aided Rongar and grabbed the lad under the arms to place him down, the kid seemed to become more aware of his sorroundings and started to cough, spitting salt water as he did so. Sinbad had been right. He could barely be older than maybe seven and his half long chestnut brown hair that clung damply to his skull just like his clothes did made him look even more ragged. When he sat down the young one on the cabin, Sinbad could hear Maeve rush up to them, she had obviously witnessed what had been going on. The young captain made sure to steady the boy and grasped him by his arms until the coughing and spitting water seized. "You´re all right." he said in a calming voice. "you´re save." The boy regarded him with partly fearful eyes, saying nothing. "What´s your name, boy?" Sinbad asked and had to wait a moment for the answer. "S-Sussuro…" came the reply since the kid was chattering teeth. "My name´s Sussuro."

"Where did you come from?" Sinbad asked. "Where is the rest of your ship?" What the child had been clinging to had obviously been the remains of a ship.

"I don´t know…" Sussuro gave back, still trembling until Maeve gave the captain a glare that clearly told him how ungallant he was and draped her cloak around the boy´s shoulders. "I was on a slave ship… I think. We got into this vortex…"

That at least made some sense even though Sinbad had been unaware they were sailing waters frequented by slave galleys. However, slavery was still rather common and since the boy did not look like the average Arabian kid with his skin a few shades whiter and his eyes blue instead of the more common brown of these lands, he very well might have been one of the many unfortunates stolen away from their families in wars or in raids to eventually be sold as child slaves. In which case the boy had been rather lucky to be found.

"Do you think anybody else survived?" Sinbad asked, but the boy just shook his head in a way that made obvious he had no idea but was completely disoriented.

"I´ll take him down to the cabin." Maeve said, now fully stepping next to Sinbad and placing a hand on the boy´s shoulders. "We can still ask him more once he´s rested. Come on." And Sinbad did not contradict her. When she gave him those reproachful looks one did better not to.

Sussuro, as Maeve would tell Sinbad later, had fallen asleep almost instantly, therefore giving none of them the opportunity for further questions. Sinbad didn´t know where questions would have led him anyways, maybe he was hoping to get any hints about what waters they were sailing, but then he told himself that it was just his anxiety resulting from the fact that for the first time in his life they were sailing waters truly and utterly unknown to him. A look at Maeve had told him though that no matter where they were even if their location could not be pinpointed on any seamaps he had in his trunk, they were obviously still going the right way – the pendant was still giving off the same glow it had ever since its shine had first shown. However, truth be told, Sinbad didn´t know whether to find this completely reassuring. The thought of almost feeling drawn to some place he did not know was not a too comforting one – but it was their only choice.

All this was going through Sinbad´s head when a few hours later he did his usual routine check up route around the ship and the sun was about to set. Unconsciously, just like the previous days he had ignored paying too much attention to the sunset since it had something final to it. Every setting of the sun brought them closer to a possible failure that was greater than anything he had ever thought was possible failing at. Every sunset, at the luckiest of cases, brought them closer to the world of the dead, Hades´ realm and even though Sinbad, captain of the Nomad, known in most corners of the known world for his bravery had never liked admitting fear, the thought of the journey and in particular their destination was not the most pleasant one he could imagine.

He could hear voices speaking in a low tone when he reached the starboard side, recognizing one of the voices as Maeve´s immediately. She was leaning with her back against the railing, facing the boy Sussuro who was sitting oposite of her on top of the captain´s cabin. He looked less shy now than he had and better rested. And the way he regarded Maeve, with some childlike curiosity confirmed his guess about the boy being a slave himself. He had seen children like him that hung on the lips of people after having been freed, wearing that same expression of gratitude.

"The captain will sure find a way to help you." Maeve said in this moment and she gave Sussuro a smile most young women her age would give a child – a caring smile that warmed Sinbad´s heart only to look at it, and that made him stop in his tracks to lean against the mast, his arms crossed over his chest, watching the two of them, but rather her.

"I hope so." the boy said, his eyes cast down for a moment while the fingers of his right hand traced the wood he was sitting on. "I wouldn´t know where to go." He looked up at Maeve again. "Do you think he would let me stay?" he asked then, voice perking up with sudden hope. "I could help with the ship, I know a bit about sailing. I could learn and become a sailor, like everyone here."

Maeve´s smile widened a little at the young one´s words and she glanced to the side for a moment telling Sinbad with her eyes she had noticed him standing there before she returned her attention to the child. "Well, we will see." she said. "I can´t decide for him can I? It´s his ship."

Sussuro tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "But you belong to the crew." he said, the last part of the sentence raised as in a question.

"I guess I am." she replied tossing Sinbad another glance and he knew her words resulted from the fact that she actually believed what he had told her earlier even though she did not remember herself. It made his heart feel a little lighter. "I´ve not been here for too long either." Maeve added.

Sussuro crossed his arms over his knees and rested his chin on it, regarding her, his brown hair looking a good deal more messy than it had when they had pulled him out of the ocean. "You´re new here, just as me." he observed with childlike logic. "we could be friends."

Maeve gave a little chuckle and pushed herself away from the railing, tousling the boy´s hair when she passed him by, walking into Sinbad´s direction. "Of course we can." she replied and Sinbad felt a moment of idiotic jealousy wishing with some sarcasm that he would have liked her to give him the same warm smiles she gave this young boy. His inner voice scoffed at him for that thought at once. He was a homeless one, a little boy probably sold away from his family, he was a bastard for envying him those small gestures of benevolence women usually gave towards young children. She walked past him with a slightly raised eyebrow and a barely visible smirk. "Looks like you fished yourself a new seaman." she said in a voice that was only audible to him and he had to fight the urge to playfully roll his eyes at her. Also, even though she probably did not intent to, her words woke the painful awareness and memory that they were lacking two sailors on the Nomad that had been sacrificed to this mission already so maybe it would be better not to dismiss the boy´s enthusiasm right away. ´Look what you´re thinking Sinbad´, he told himself. He´s a kid. He´s barely got enough strength in his arms to lift a rope yet.´

As Maeve walked away Sinbad noticed that the boys attention was now on him and for some reason this made him feel slightly awkward even though he did not know why exactly. Most likely because he merely wasn´t used to the presence of children his age. Sussuro gave him a look that bordered on scepticism. "Is she your girlfriend?" he asked then, his words bearing the typical innocence a child´s question would have at times and maybe because of that being all the more embarrassing. He had meant to talk to the kid, but right now the boy had gotten him off track so he decided to pull the matter off for somewhen later after he had ended his routine check… which was not of any necessity right now anyways, but one could always pretend. "You must be hungry." he said instead of replying, meaning his words to sound stern in a you´re-a-lot-younger-than-me-so-don´t-interfere-with-my-privacy sort of way, but being annoyed by himself for the fact that they sounded quite a bit softer than he had wanted them to sound. "I´m sure there´s some dinner left for you. If you hurry that is." He indicated his head towards one of the cabin.

Sussuro continued looking at him for another moment before he seemed to shrug off the importance of the question he had just asked, seemingly no longer interested in it. He hopped off the cabin and left the captain there to look after him. Yes, Sinbad decided, forcing his mind back on the course of rationality. It couldn´t do much harm to talk to the kid later. Maybe he knew something that could be of help for their further journey. After all, they had had a row of nasty encounters already and he could live without another one.


	21. Double takes

Chapter 21

_**Author´s notes:**_

_**And once more I didn´t find the time to update earlier, sorry there guys. I hope that´ll change again soon, so maybe there will be another new chapter within a week. Cliffhanger ahead there, guys, mwahahaha.**_

**Tai:**

Hehe, I remember that episode :D I totally can imagine them in this situation, too. ;-) I see how you liked the previous one better. There are chapters that have more action going on, others that build more on emotions and dialogues and yet others that are either in betweens to connect one with the other or set up another course of action. There are quite some chapters ahead that are less calm starting with the cliffhanger that ends this one, so I hope you´ll like that :-)

**Ageofaagje**

Oy, just… wow. Oo I´m seriously and honestly flattered, even though I now feel a little bad for ruining your sleep. Heh. :-) No really, thanks a lot for this cool review :-)

Actually yes, I do write more than this, some of it digging into own stuff, even though not much yet. There is one bigger thing in progress that is too little of a fanfiction to be published on here and too little of an original fiction to be published on a non-ff. site and which is sort of a LotR sequel mixed with modern mystery elements. And then there is a story I finished about three years ago which is an original fiction, kind of post apocalyptic. If you´re interested, just let me know via pm (or drop a line at my e-mail address: Niliathiel-Darkelf(at) ) and I´ll tell you more about it :-)

Heh, I could try Dutch though, ;-) it´s not too different from German after all. :-)

**TiaKisu:**

Aww, shush you, trying to find something suspicious about a poor, little, innocent looking kid … that strangely ends up all alone paddling around the ocean (shifty eyes) Really, tsk tsk on you :-P

**Chapter 21**

**Double takes**

The night passed pleasantly quiet even though, when morning came, Sinbad awoke with the uncomfortable feeling that he had slept for too many hours, unable to take his usual night shift. He knew that his friends had most likely not commented on it but shared extra shifts among themselves, knowing their captain could need some sleep, but that, of course, did not make him feel any better.

He awoke with a headache, his limbs feeling the way they usually only did after a long, exhausting fight after a long time of leisure. It took him a moment to realise that this was probably the aftermath of having been frozen to near-death and he groaned slightly when he sat up on his bed and found his muscles protest with pain. He closed his eyes for a moment to force it away before he stretched and got dressed.

When he got on deck, his annoyance was increased when he had a look at the sun. It had been up for quite a while, far too long for a captain to get up only now, he scolded himself, but as he had guessed, no one commented on it. He found his men immersed in their usual work and that added to his slightly grumpy mood, since it gave him the feeling they were just letting him skip his duties. Sinbad didn´t like feeling useless. He stepped up to the tiller that was momentarily occupied by Doubar and commented the other man´s work with a short "My turn in a moment" in a tone that allowed no argument before he walked on to do his routine walk as if he wanted to enforce his authority. His mood brightened a little when he spotted Maeve leaning on one of the cabins starboard. "Take care there, Sussuro." he heard her call out the moment he meant to call a good morning over to her and he closed his mouth again, eyes searching for the boy who had gotten dangerously close to where the rampant goddess had ripped a piece off the railing the day before. The child was holding to the good part of the railing with a hand, so part of Sinbad scoffed at Maeve´s warning, an inner voice being sure the child was in no danger if he knew his way around ships and had an idea of how unpredictable waves and currents could be at times about throwing people off balance. Sussuro looked over to her with a boyish grin, but didn´t retreat soon enough for her taste, so Maeve walked over to the boy to drag him away from the railing. "That´s dangerous, can´t you see?" she asked him with something of a reproach, cowering down in front of him so their eyes were on the same level. Her words made Sinbad wonder if she was just remembering what he had told her about being washed overboard two years ago.

The boy snickered at that, giving her an innocent grin and ruffled his messy hair. "If I fall in, the captain will just fish me out again." he said carelessly. It seemed he had really warmed up to Maeve, there was not much left of his previous shyness – but then again, Sinbad thought, this was nothing uncommon to be experienced with children like him. Whoever knew how long he had been a slave? Maybe he had been born into slavery and been sold away at a young age which would mean that the kindness Maeve was showing him was the first bit of affection he was granted after far too long a time. "He could certainly." Maeve said, giving the boy a slight shove towards where there was a railing, spotting Sinbad as she did so and straightened up. "But maybe he won´t." Sinbad raised a questioning eyebrow at her, his eyes showing slight amusement. "there might be all sorts of evil creatures down there, sea monsters and the like. The captain would be a fool to risk being eaten just because a little boy was being stupid." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Sinbad bit down a chuckle. It was obvious to tell she was kidding, but Sussuro was still a kid and part of the captain liked the idea of her scaring him a little.

And indeed, the boy gave her a sceptical look. "Was that what happened?" he asked. "Did a monster attack you?" He was pointing at the railing and Sinbad saw that as the moment to step in. "Something like that." he said, stepping closer before he added in a tone that was about as friendly as Maeve´s earlier – also because he unintentionally hoped for herapproval: "and now off you go and leave the lady alone." The child gave him a look that for the first time did not really match that of a child but that was different to sort in, then however he obeyed and trot off to find another victim for his ramblings. Sinbad looked after him and he almost had to smile at the small figure trodding away. He looked almost comical with that messy hair of his and now with a pout to match it.

"He´s just a little boy, you know." Maeve said before he even turned to her. He raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "What´s that supposed to mean?" he asked, not sure where she was really heading at. She gave him a shrug that bore the hint of annoyance. "Nothing at all. I´m just saying." she said before she walked away, leaving him to look after her. She wasn´t mad at him he could tell, but somewhat ticked off and he inwardly growled at himself for … well, for what actually? Don´t fool yourself, Sinbad, be thought, just stop acting like that boy was a rival. After a moment, he shrugged it off however and reminded himself of his duties. He could not see Sussuro anywhere and caught himself thinking that this meant at least the kid wasn´t keeping his men from doing their work.

He strolled towards the other end of the ship and gave his brother a nod of the head. "Time for me to take over." he said with half a lopsided smile. "and next time you don´t wake me when I´m skipping my shift I´ll cut down on your provisions." It was a joke, but strangely did not have the effect on Doubar he had excepted. Probably because his brother was tired which he would never have shown of course. "Aye." he said instead and stepped aside. When Sinbad moved over to take his place however, there was something that seemed odd. It took him a moment to figure out and then he knew: the sun was not in the right place. He scowled. They had set their course north ever since they had found out the function of the necklace and it had been a straight course ever since . Fatigue was wearing down the other man´s concentration it seemed, still Sinbad did not feel like excusing everything, not when Maeve´s life depended on it and therefore he was unable to hold back all of his annoyance. "Why did you change the course?" he asked incredulously. "you drifted off to north-west, Doubar."

His brother´s reply was unexpected and consisted of a surprised blink and an "I did? I didn´t notice, however could that happen?" He scratched his head. "well, I guess it must have been instincts coming through." he then said. "because seriously Sinbad, this course can not be right, sailing north all the time. It can´t be that easy."

Sinbad just gave him a stern look and advised him to sleep a few hours before he corrected the course which took him a few moments of coordination and advising some of the crew to adjust the sails. It was a small thing, but annoying and he did not even dare to wonder how long they had been sailing into the wrong direction. He would have to check on the pendant again. They could not afford to go astray and he felt his nerves getting through at the mere thought of a delay. Whatever had given Doubar the idea that the course was off? He tried to get his anger off him, seeing that there was no use in it anyways, and tried to focus his mind on things that mattered.

He didn´t have his peace for too long. After a short while one of the sailors walked up to him, his look questioning and when Sinbad asked what the matter was, the man fidgeted around a little, then said: "Some of the men are talking, captain, about correcting the course." Sinbad scowled. "Talking?" he asked. It was no matter of the sailing crew, so why did they bother about it? And why did Doubar … "The course had to be corrected and now go back to your work." The last word bore enough authority to have the man retreat at once. He disappeared behind one of the sails and vanished from Sinbad´s view. The captain paid no more attention to him, but he could see that now and then the men were tossing him glances. Obviously, his little conversation with his brother earlier had caused some uneasiness that he could not explain. He did not leave the tiller however and when he saw Maeve who had been under deck for a while come back, he shouted over to her to get her attention. The whole thing had made him uneasy and he needed to make sure they were back on track.

"The men are strange today." she said when she stepped up to him.

"I noticed." he said curtly, not intent on giving it any more thought. His mood wasn´t the best right now and she was not the one he would ever blame, so he was keeping his grumpiness from her. "Show me the pendant." he said instead. "I want to make sure we are on the right way."

She reached for the drop shaped thing that had partly slipped under the cloak she was wearing – ever since the morning before they had been crossing colder waters which was at least an indicator for the fact that they had not gone back all the way or something like this, he thought. He forced himself not to stare and Maeve did not seem to notice when she took the pendant between her fingers. It was still glowing but much more weakly so. It made his heart skip a beat when he saw. "I don´t know what´s up with all this." she said. "but maybe Doubar was right." He tilted his head to the side in question and let her elaborate. "He said he had corrected the course a little and the pendant glowed all the time. Not we are going back north and see what happened. Something tells me we are wrong." She said it in a way that was untypical of her and that nearly made him scowl. Of course, as a captain he could make mistakes, even though he did not admit that to him on this particular journey, but the way she and Doubar and the sailor earlier had approached him earlier was nagging him in a strange way. Something about this was off. "This is nonsense." He replied. "it stopped glowing because Doubar changed the course." Only like this did it make sense. She gave him a look that told him she was far from sure he was right. "Maybe you should listen to your brother." she said. "he´s older than you and might be wiser now and then."

Sinbad just gave her a disbelieving glance. Her reaction, her attitude towards him made no sense, but he decided to knock off any argument since he never knew what effect the whole ordeal Rumina had forced onto her had caused in her. Therefore he just nodded his head towards one of the men who was about to have a nap nearby and ignored her criticism, even though it stung pretty harshly. "I´m getting Rongar to take over the tiller and then we´ll see where the right course is." he said, meaning that they would have to readjust the pendant, before he stepped down. He was a little nervous about it all, but didn´t want to show it in front of her. Nervousness would only mean she could get nervous as well and he didn´t want her to worry, about anything. It would be best not to think about it too much and see they set things straight again as soon as possible. However, he could not avoid his nervousness to increase when his gaze went past the pendant again when he walked past her: the glow the little thing had emanated before was almost completely gone. He had to hurry and made it below deck as fast as he could.

Rongar was quickly found, but when him and Sinbad returned to the deck, the young captain stopped in his tracks, frozen in disbelief. "I really think there is something fishy about this all, maybe we should just try a whole new way of navigating, this necklace is not working after all." he heard an all too familiar voice say to Firouz who was standing near the mast with a somewhat doubtful look. Maeve was gone. When Sinbad stepped towards them, the speaker turned around. "What wicked sorcery is this?" the man asked with his voice before he raised a hand to ruffle his hair, making it look more messy than usual with that simple movement. Sinbad opened his mouth, but didn´t speak, his hand instantly going for his sabre. Firouz and Rongar had stopped still as well, their gazes going between the two men who looked absolutely identical.

"Who is this guy?" the other Sinbad asked, a mix of mock scepticism and ever so slight … amusement in his eyes that betrayed the harshness of his question when his hand swiftly travelled towards his blade as well.


	22. A little bit of hope

Chapter 22

**Author´s note:**

Again there is an update after a long wait, sorry to you guys again but work is taking up most of my time, leaving little time for writing. However, I hope you bear with me there :-)

And here you go for another chapter. The end of it gave me somewhat of a cozy feeling inside when writing, let´s see if it´s the same for you when reading…

_Ageofaagje_: Hehe, you might be right there, course there has to be something fishy about this kid :P Hm, never heard about Kim Harrison, I might have to do some research there :-)

_Tai_: Lighter moods are approaching. I know he appears somewhat cold at times but part of him has this fear in the back of his mind that he might fail and he will lose her forever therefore it is sometimes rather difficult for him to be back to his usual joyous self. But he is trying and so am I so I hope you don´t see his behaviour as being totally out of character :-)

_TiaKisu:_ Hehe, thanks :-) Good to know you see those as good ideas. (bows) Hope you´ll keep enjoying.

_Ila88_: Oh, they can be both so ridiculously jealous, can´t they? :-) Hehe, I love writing cliffhangers, but this chapter doesn´t really have one so I´m being nice for now.

**Chapter 22**

**A little bit of hope**

There were a few seconds of silence where none of the two identically looking men nor the disbelieving bystanders spoke a word. His right hand still on the hilt of the sabre, Sinbad raised it a little as in showing he was not instantly aggressive as the other man seemed to be, but ready to hear an explanation first. "Who are you?" he asked, both his hands away from the sabre now as he did a step towards the other Sinbad.

There was a sound of metal against metal when the other one unsheathed the sabre with the speed of a cobra, a nearly playful movement of his wrist, and jumped forward. Sinbad was skilled in combat of that sort, therefore the attack did not have the desired effect of giving him a bad slash with the imposter´s blade, but had steel meet steel when he pulled his weapon as well and with a mighty swing crossed it with the first. "I´m Sinbad." the wrong captain said with a boyish grin, hair falling into his face and eyes glimmering. "tamer of the seven seas." And he sprang back ready for another blow. Sinbad leaped after him, confused and taken aback to be confronted with… well… someone who looked every bit like himself, but there was something fishy about the whole thing and he was almost sure he knew by now what it was. And that made him think he had an advantage. Again, their blades crossed, a little harder, making the blow vibrate through his arm and shoulder, and this time it was the other captain to parry the stroke. "And tamer of pretty ladies." the imposter added with an even wider grin. "or so I have heard."

"You´ve heard a lot then." Sinbad replied through his teeth because most of his attention was on fighting now since his opposite did not leave time for idle chatting. Again the other one sprang back and again the captain followed half delivering half parrying a swift row of strokes. He had to admit the other one was more skilled than he had initially thought when he just in time avoided a dangerous slash across the chest by doing a jump back. The imposter gave a triumphant growl and sped after him, seeing his opponent in a bad moment and Sinbad reacted faster than the other deemed possible. Parrying yet another blow he pulled his twin´s leg and added a harsh push against the man´s back when he lost his balance and stumbled forwards. The other one gave a surprised grunt and tried to spin even in staggering, coming to lie flat on his back instead of his stomach, the sabre clattering from his hand. Dashing for the side he tried to grab the hilt but the captain kicked the weapon away with a light kick of his foot and set the tip of his own blade against the imposter´s chest. "You should add maybe add tamer of coltish tricksers to your list." he added, his breath going a little more quickly than usual, but his concentrated grim expression fading into somewhat of a smirk before turning more serious again. "And he doesn´t like tricksers." The blade became a little more threatening, travelling a good bit up towards the other one´s neck and Sinbad could see the wrong captain lose control over his facial expression for a moment.

At least the twin judged the situation correctly and held up his arms in a defensive manner, showing he would not cause any further trouble. It was clear he had been bolt and tried more than he was capable of. Sinbad gave Rongar who was standing closest to him a look and the other man understood, taking up the imposter´s useless blade. Sinbad removed the tip of his sabre from his opponent´s chest and did a small step back, allowing the other man to sit up. Around them, the crew had gathered, watching in silence.

"What sort of a name is Sussuro?" he asked, lowering the sabre, but still keeping it in his hand. There was no doubt who the wrong captain was, not with the fact that the boy had vanished when he had appeared and not with the typical moves this man had made and which he had seen with the kid earlier.

For a moment he thought the imposter would remain stubborn for he shot Sinbad something that looked like an almost stubborn glare, but then he changed, turning back into the boy he had fished from the water before the eyes of the whole crew. The sabre he had used had been part of that disguise as well and vanished form Rongar´s hands.

"Whisperer." he replied, his voice no longer that of Sinbad either. "It is what I call myself."

"Whisperer?" Sinbad repeated, raising his brows. "That´s… rather original."

The boy scrambled to his feet, a trace of stubbornness in his eyes now after all. "It is who I chose to be. I whisper things to the mortals, I show them things they don´t want to be dragged to the surface. Like telling your crew they don´t know where they are sailing, like dropping remarks about you and the woman." And a smirk crept onto his face that would not exactly fit with a boy his age and told Sinbad he could hardly be as young as he appeared.

"It´s not your real name, isn´t it?" Maeve said, her voice steady and Sinbad raised his eyes to find her only a few steps away. "What sort of lower deity are you, Sussuro?"

The boy gave her a stubborn look and for a moment Sinbad was almost certain Maeve would get a reply. But then the boy they had gotten to know under the name of Sussuro swiftly changed his shape again, turning into a white gull that quickly took wing and flew off into the sky without more sound than a flapping of wings. They all stared after him and then Sinbad finally sheathed his sabre.

"Who was that?" one of the younger sailors asked and Sinbad took his eyes off the sky and looked at Maeve. The sorceress had had an idea he could tell, otherwise she would not have asked for the stranger´s real name and the mention of mortals had held an implication, too.

"I am not sure." She said. "but he might have been Momos, one of the lesser Gods. God of denial and criticism." She gave a shrug and once more Sinbad was bewildered about where she took that knowledge from. She didn´t even seem to know herself, yet she just accepted this knowledge as being there. The only way he could imagine this to work out was that this knowledge was somehow rooted to her magical abilities. Either that… or she had heard about all these deities after Rumina had taken her soul. Which again would mean she might have some deeper knowledge about Rumina´s plotting that that evil wench no doubt had tried to lock away in her mind – not too successfully. It also meant there was quite some hidden knowledge in her of how everything had happened. Sinbad brushed away that thought for now. Maybe her memory had a good reason to deny her constant access to this memory.

"Strange fellow." Firouz said stepping a little closer to the two of them looking after the gull who vanished from their sight in this moment. "Whyever would he give himself another name? And why would he give up so quickly?"

"I have no idea." Maeve gave back. "maybe he is a young and inexperienced God." It sounded like she really had no clue and was merely guessing.

"Possible." Sinbad said. "or, if we´re more lucky, he gave himself an own name because he doesn´t get along too well with his darling family."

"And that´s good?" Maeve asked.

Sinbad gave a shrug and a nod before he winked at her.

"Well, after all the nice brothers and sisters we already met that means there is at least some hope some members of the family don´t want our blood." It might not sound too reasonable to her which was obvious in the scowl he received in return, but to him there was some logic to it. Sussuro, as annoying as he had been, had more toyed with his powers of shape shifting than with them, giving up on his task of setting them up against each other at the first sign of difficulty, like a moody child abandoning some boring toy. Sussuro had not had his heart and hatred set to the task of destroying them, like Ker had for her own benefit, like Somnos and Eris had for reasons of promise and personal entertainment. It left the opportunity that there were gods that were not wrapped around Rumina´s finger yet and even though he knew it meant they had to remain careful the thought filled him with a somewhat irrational hope. And that thought raised his spirit, showing him how much he had needed a heads up these previous days.

The rest of the day passed in idleness. The cold that had surrounded them the day before had retreated a little and even though the waters they were sailing now were not as warm as those they were used to, they were less cold than the previous day and the same held true for the weather. Still, the atmosphere seemed changed. Just as much as they were now for sure sailing unknown waters, waters that could usually not be reached with any map Sinbad guessed, the ocean seemed different. It was nothing anyone of the crew would have been capable of explaining, it was a change so subtle that it could not be described yet it was there and obvious to everyone. Just like they had passed into some other realm, a realm where anything was possible both good ways and bad. A realm where the extraordinary was part of the ordinary. And this change was everywhere, in the breeze, in the water, in the light of the stars at night. And strangely it let the stars appear clearer, purer than in the world they knew, in the waters they had sailed most of their lives. It made Sinbad wonder what he had gotten himself into but evoked a strange kind of greatfulness as well for this journey allowing him to see things in a light he had not seen them in before. It made him lightheaded he noticed when he was sitting on the captain´s cabin by sunset, it gave him the feeling they had advanced their journey further than he had deemed possible and when his eyes searched the horizon, the sails of the Nomad silently billowing in a steady breeze, he for the first time had the feeling that they could make it, they could reach the realm of Hades and turn things right again. Maybe it was Sussuro´s carelessness about being a real obstacle that made him hope, he couldn´t really tell, maybe it was the fact that they had, as a team, managed to stand their ground against four deities already, proving they would not go down as easily and suffer as much as Rumina had hoped they would. Sinbad caught himself smirking as he asked himself whether she was watching them in this moment, probably fuming they had still set their course into the right direction, or whether she was trying to hide her fury behind the hope that there was still something ahead of them.

"Nice evening, isn´t it?" He turned his head quickly, almost startled in his own somewhat foolish and shortsighted thoughts to see Maeve standing a little way off, her silhouette barely shining out against the darkness of the night approaching. "Nicer than many." he replied, allowing himself to smile and not even having to force smile as he noticed with satisfaction. Out of a habit he had taken on when they had still sailed together, he shifted aside a little, making space for her to sit next to him and at the same time shifting aside enough to allow her plenty of space and not feel like he was closing in on her. She took the offer and let her legs dangle off the cabin looking into the distance. A moment of silence fell between them.

"I thought about what you told me." she said then. "about how we used to sail together. I wish I hadn´t forgotten any of what happened." He turned his head, ever so slightly raising his brow at her, the faintest of smirks appearing on his features. "There must be quite some adventures that my memory misses out now that is." she said catching his glance, sounding a little hasty as she said so, impulsively crossing her arms across her chest, trying to make it look casual. He pretended he had not noticed. "Oh, quite some." he replied. "The fights, the monsters, the dare…" He gave a little, almost humorous sigh before he continued with his enumerations. "the jealousy you would give me whenever a pretty girl even so much as looked at me..." He couldn´t help his very faint smirk broadening at his words and he got the expected snort.

"You can be such an ass." she gave back. "I think I would remember some of that and the fact I don´t means there was no such childish thing as jealousy. Whyever would there?" He gave her his most innocent smile. "Oh, you´re probably right." he just said and received a rolling of eyes.

"I never even said you were my type." she said almost pouting and he found that an adorable thing to do for some idiotic reason. "therefore I´d really… appreciate if you could cut … just keep your comments real." He nodded, feigning seriousness. He was really feeling amused. "I mean," she continued. "there is so much I´m missing, so much that is just…" she made a somewhat helpless gesture. "gone." The hint of jest that had been in her voice earlier was gone now. "so if you can help me fill my head with some memory, please do."

Sinbad knew she meant serious, he knew they had reached a point where she would not be fine with just nodding to everything he did not tell her. And it was just fair. She knew she had been with the crew, so that was hardly a shock to her any more. And as for the words unspoken, the implications between the lines, their flirting and the meaningful glances denied by both of them during their time together, well it seemed like things were partly back to that normality of jestful denial. He knew she would deny things if he told her about their little flirting games, just as she had just denied her jealousy. She might guess he was not lying there but being as amnesiac as she was, it was an easy thing to her to just return to normality – claiming they were just friends. It felt normal, Sinbad thought. And normal these days, was a rare and comforting thing. Deep inside both of them knew there was attraction, an attraction they had never admitted too openly for reasons not clear to either of them – maybe just for reasons of stubbornness and pride and a reluctance to admit – that attraction had been there from the first day, and even though it had been buried under the stress and turmoil of Maeve finding herself tossed into a world of apparent strangers, it had never been gone. It was rooted in both of them, rooted in her heart and not gone with what Rumina had taken from her. Sinbad knew that now and it made his heart swell.

"I can." he replied after a moment of silence, answering her plea from earlier and casually propping his weight back on his elbows. "If you´re not tired, I can just tell you some good night stories." There were many to tell if he was to set off from where he had started with her, much to fill her empty memory with and Maeve nodded with a faint smile letting him know the offer of those bedtime stories were much appreciated. He was in for a long, long story…


	23. Unexpected turns

Chapter 23

_Author´s note: Gah, long time no see – again. I really can´t apologize enough but I do not have much freetime these days. :-/ However, I was having some pretty nice ideas for the next chapters these days which means there might be an update soon, hehe. :-)_

**Ageofaagje: **

Ooh, right that would have been an awesome idea to have Maeve find out! Aw, damn me for not thinking of that, that would have been fun :-)

**Wuli: **

Wow, that´s so nice of you, I feel really flattered :-) So great to read reviews like yours. I hope this chapter is worth the wait then ;-)

**TiaKisu: **

Heh, yeah, they can be adorable without intending so. (pinches Maeve and Sinbad´s cheeks) :-P And thanks for the welcome back. :-) I´m really sorry for not updating more frequently. :-(

**Ila88: **

The thought of two Sinbad´s is rather … uhm… fascinating isn´t it? … Er… where was I? (clears throat) Heh, I was wondering about that, too, what stories to tell I mean.

**Tai: **

I hope you won´t be mad at me for keeping the story telling a bit short. There will be more but I guess putting it all down would be kind of tiresome cause it then would be mere recapitulation. Hope you like this chappy though :-)

**MagicalMoonStar: **

Thy wish be granted ;-) (updates) Thankees :-)

**Chapter 23**

**Unexpected turns**

„Me, Doubar and Rongar got through that gate after you and Firouz had already gone in. It was a gate we couldn't miss, leading from the green and the rocks right into the desert. I guess the archers were not far behind us, but we didn´t see them again. When we stepped through, the gate vanished again and there was desert all around us."

Sinbad had assumed a more relaxed position and was now sitting leant back on top of the captain´s cabin, his weight propped on his elbow, one leg bent, the other dangling. The sun had set quite a while ago and the cloudless sky was starting to fill with stars, their pale light dimmed by the soft glow of the oil lantern that hung from the smaller mast near them, giving a low clang whenever the Nomad hit a slight wave and the lamp hit the wood. Apart from that and his voice, there was silence.

"What happened then?" Maeve asked, her gaze directed into the distance, her back leant against the mast, her legs stretched out in front of her and slightly crossed. She had been sitting like this for quite a while now, seemingly not heeding the fact that now that night had fallen, the air had chilled considerably.

"Well," Sinbad said with the trace of a chuckle. "turned out there was a reason for calling the place the island of the Colossus. Just a moment after we found you, it came stomping round the corner, one huge giant made of rocks and we ran like hell without any chance to escape."

She turned her head slightly, meeting his eyes for a moment. "But obviously we did escape." she said. A faint smirk appeared on her face, letting her look as if she was not yet ready to openly tease him in a good natured, casual way. "Let me guess. The captain saved the day." The words were accompanied by two slightly raised eyebrows, giving her overall expression a look that just hovered on the brink of playful mockery.

"No. You did." Sinbad gave back, he himself admitting a broad grin.

"Oh." Maeve looked back at the sea and shrugged slightly as if in confused acceptance of that fact. "So how did I do it? I mean, I guess you don´t just point at such a thing and yell ´stop´."

"Actually," Sinbad said, the memory somewhat amusing him, "that is just what you do."

"Now, that is really cliché." Maeve gave him a somewhat sceptical look, but Sinbad knew she did not doubt the truth behind what he was telling her. There seemed to be some silent agreement between the two of them. She had asked for a story, he was granting her one. Or rather, several. They had been talking for about two hours now, not heeding the cold air, her listening and tossing in a random detail question now and then, him telling, filling her void memory with stories.

He did not actually notice, but unconsciously chose what he told her and what he left out. Not for reasons of protecting her, just for reasons of making these stories a nice experience for her there were some things he left out. Occasions where she had been in a tricky situation alone, where him and the crew had had to rescue her. Like that one time the Norsemen had taken her away or when this lunatic sculptor, Vincenco, had turned her into a statue. Unintentionally he avoided those parts of their mutual history that had her in any way as a damsel in distress situation, just because it felt like a logical and better thing to do to tell about the adventures they had had an equal part in and particularly those where she had demonstrated her wit and skill. Like the one he was just telling her.

Sinbad gave a little shrug at her retort, one of the well-who-cares-as-long-as-it´s-a-good-story kind before he noticed she had now pulled her legs closer and her arms around her knees. "Do you want to hear the end of it?" he asked as if considering something.

"Of course I want to." Maeve replied. "you´re a somewhat decent story teller and as such you should know that leaving the audience with a half finished tale is the worst you can do." There was slight jest in her voice and he almost retorted by sticking out his tongue at her. Before he could decide to do so however, he got up and, tossing her a glance to just stay where she was, disappeared into the cabin. Inside, he opened the wooden chest at the other end of the room, took out one of the blankets he found inside and returned to the deck. From a reflex he unfolded it and meant to drape it around her shoulders, but before he could do so, she reached for it, gave him a half grateful, half surprised or irritated look and did so herself. He hesitated for a moment that was too brief for her to notice before he settled back on the cabin, his back against the mast now, a little closer to her so their arms were just touching. He hadn´t intended this, but she didn´t object. It felt good.

"All right," he said, putting his left arm behind his head, "now where was I…"

In the end, he had finished the story in all its details. Well, nearly all. All that was relevant to the point where they had left the island again, tactfully leaving out the snickering of his crew when Turhan had advised him to maybe settle down one day and he, fool that he was, had been unable to not shoot a glance at Maeve when he replied, thoughts jumping ahead more obviously than he had intended.

He had told her how they had been captive and how they had destroyed the colossus, how they had faced Bellamur´s little army. He had gone for detail, yes, because it felt nice sitting there with her under the stars and because as Maeve grew more and more sleepy while listening, she had not noticed she had her head half leant against his shoulder, too lulled by weariness to mind. He knew she would not have sat like that with him had she been more aware of herself, but had not done anything against it either, of course.

Later, Sinbad couldn´t really say when they had fallen asleep or who had been the first to drowse off, but from one moment to the other it seemed night had changed into day when he had woken up from the sun shining on his face when the wind billowed the sail and shifted the shadows. He raised his left arm to shade it against the sun and blinked lazily. When the world around him stopped being blurry and sleepiness retreated, he scowled. Opposite of him, their backs against the railing, stood Firouz and Doubar, both with their arms crossed and their heads slightly tilted to the side in a way that made them look amused. Sinbad just looked at them, bewildered, for a second or two, before he realised the reason for his friends´ smugness. He had his right arm closely draped across Maeve´s shoulder and the red headed sorceress was next to him or rather, had her head rested on his chest. She was sleeping soundly, lose strands of hair falling into her face, one hand loosely holding his shirt. The blanket he had gotten for her at night, she had still draped across her shoulders and most of her body, only one of her boots showing. She looked so adorable, Sinbad would have just stared – had it not been for those two jerks watching them. He hated himself for it, but he could almost feel his ears go red like a little boy´s before the two men started to chuckle.

"Had a good sleep, little brother?" Doubar teased, before leaning across the railing, getting a rope just as if that was the only reason he was standing here and he had absolutely no intent of poking fun at the captain.

Sinbad, in a lousy attempt to make things look less dubious – and by the Gods what was so dubious about it? They had fallen asleep in the middle of some storytelling – sat bolt upright and grabbed for a rag that was lying on the cabin with his left hand, meaning to toss it at his brother, but being caught off balance since Maeve chose that moment to wake up. Since he still had her arm around her, that was the first thing she noticed after giving him a short, sleepy look and her next reaction was the same as his. Sitting bolt upright and shaking off his arm, pretending this not to be real. Sinbad´s throw missed its aim, but the alternative was just as good since the rag hit Firouz in the face, for a brief moment swiping the other man´s now very broad grin off his face. Doubar let a loud, booming laugh at this which made Sinbad wish for another rag – or a bucket. Maeve shot Doubar an angry glance before murmuring something about being hungry and wanting some breakfast. She scrambled to her feet and was off across the deck, tossing half a glance across her shoulder at Sinbad and unfortunately stumbling slightly as she did so before she was off under deck.

"You." Sinbad said in a voice that was meant to be menacing and don't´-you-dare-laugh-about-the-captain but which obviously was not taken too seriously by those he addressed. "can cut your comments on that."

"Oh, why would we say anything about that, little one." Doubar said, when Sinbad got to his feet and pushed the blanket aside, ignoring the fact that the rather uncomfortable position half against the mast all night was now providing him with a rather nasty back ache "after all, you just fell asleep."

"Damn right." Sinbad said, giving Doubar a glare that was more that of a stubborn boy, his ears still red. He was glad his long bangs covered most of that.

Firouz chuckled again, looking as if he was trying hard not to laugh aloud. Sinbad gave him a snort. "What are you guys standing around for anyways?" he demanded, throwing up his arms. "stop poking fun at people and start workin´ already." And with that he strut off…and scowled once more when his gaze met the ocean… or rather…where he would have expected the ocean to be.

"Say," he said, looking back at his two friends. "didn´t any of you genious sailors notice we´re approaching land?" The surprise on their faces was not faked when they hurried towards him, looking the direction their captain was looking. "Well, actually… no." Doubar said, confused. "I swear we would have seen it if it had been there."

"If it..had been there?" Sinbad asked.

"Aye." Doubar said motioning towards the island. "I can´t explain it. Looks like it just… popped up."

"Hm…" Sinbad just replied, propping his hand on the reiling. With what had happened to them the previous days it would have been foolish to just dismiss that option as impossible. He studied the land in front of him, scanning the approaching shoreline with his eyes. Unfamiliar. Of course it was unfamiliar. Everything he had seen for days was. He turned his head and to the side and gave the man who was standing at the tiller right now a sign. Doubar walked over to the tiller and took over, allowing the other man to go and see what the captain wanted.

"Did you see that island?" Sinbad asked the other man.

All he got was a surprised shrug. "No, looks like it just…"

"..popped up, yeah." Sinbad completed the sentence. "We´re still sailing north, are we?" he asked.

The sailor turned and left only to return with a compass a few short moments later, looking even more confused. "I can not explain it." He said with an apologetic look on his face. "we have been holding north ever since you told us to, but…the compass tells us that´s not where we are going now."

Sinbad had a look at the compass the man was handing to him. And even though it seemed completely unlogical – he himself had had a lookout for the stars for orientation – the compass stated the impossible: They were actually going west…


	24. Island of the Blessed

_**Author´s note:**_

_**Aaand for another update. :-) Thanks for bearing with me even though I update far less recently than I´d which. It will probably get better with updating by mid December. **_

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**Uh, wait, did I ever write a disclaimer? Okay, just to be on the safe side: none of this is mine. I merely stole a Sinbad clone for myself. He´s mine and living in my closet :-P**_

**TiaKisu:**

Heh, thanks for the kudos, I´m glad you enjoyed it :-) Hope this chapter is worth the wait, too.

**Ila88**

Well, I felt they deserved a little romantic cuddling by now. :-P Inwardly she does trust him which I think becomes clear by the way she behaves around him even though she prefers not to show it that openly. But that´s how they are after all :-) And his secrecy towards her is slowly losing grounds, too.

**Ageofaagje**

Heh, well, let me see…would I be so cruel against Sinbad to let him fail? (ponders) Difficult, difficult question… :-P

**Tai**

Thanks for the suggestions first of all :-)

Well, that´s him. He has a lot on his mind right now, the first priority being protecting and saving her and he thinks this will confuse her, even though it should be obvious by now that there is still this attraction between the two of them and Maeve has at least started to begun wondering what there was between them before. There is a plot idea connected to how Sinbad will handle it which will be covered in either chapter 25 or 26, probably rather 25 and I am really excited to see what you think of this :-)

Yes, Maeve has the key. Why they suddenly seem to be sailing west will be made clear in this chapter. After all they are no longer really sailing the oceans of the known world but have drifted partly into the land of legends already, strange stuff can happen there now and then. ;-)

Hehe, yeah, that´s why I love them. There aren´t many couples like that out there in tv show land. :-)

**Chapter 24**

**Island of the Blessed**

There was no mistake in what the compass told them; west was the direction they were headed. Sinbad usually had a good idea about directions, but since he had set course after the pendant Maeve was wearing he had never ever had the feeling they had changed direction. He had told everyone on the crew to not go after the compass, but follow the necklace´s call and they had done so. It was how things were supposed to be, yet it surprised him that they had seemingly drastically changed direction without anyone noticing. Either that, or in those strange unknown waters they were sailing, north, west, east and south were no longer what they used to be. It would be one of the smaller surprises for sure after all they had seen in those previous days.

"Do you think it is a good idea to make for the island, little brother?" Doubar asked a few minutes after they had spotted the land and after Sinbad had told his men to set sail for it. He stepped next to the capitain who was leaning against the railing and looking out to the quickly approaching isle. "I don´t know." The captain replied. "but we could do with a little fresh water once more and for all we know,.. or rather don´t know, whatever we find there might be of help. Do you know where the entrance to the underworld is, Doubar?"

"No."

"Well, neither do I. Maybe it is on this island. If we sail past, we might not have the time to sail back and try again. Maybe there is a reason it showed up just now, right in our path"

"And if we are idle on this island, it might just turn out the same." Doubar grumbled.

Sinbad kept silent for a moment. "I don´t know why, but I think we are on the right way. The pendant is glowing as strong as always." He looked down onto his hands which he had propped against the wooden bars of the railing.

"But that is not all, isn´t it?" Doubar asked. Of course it wasn´t. The other man knew him, probably better than any other. He had always been able to tell when there was more on his little brother´s mind.

"No." Sinbad replied, tossing a glance over his shoulder as if to make sure noone was listening. "It can not be far to the underworld now. I didn´t tell them where we are going and I will not force them to go to the end."

Doubar regarded them with an untypically serious expression for a moment, then he sighed. "You are planning to leave the crew behind, aren´t you."

"Not behind." Sinbad said, shaking his head before he turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He knew he would not be able to keep his friends from coming along, but he had asked too much of all of them already. He would not let them sail to their deaths… if that was what fate had chosen for them. "I will leave them here and we will pick them up again when we return."

He knew it sounded more like "if" and Doubar very well knew that, but held his tongue, just looked at the younger man for another long moment before he placed a hand on his shoulder. "We have been through so many adventures, you and I." he said. "and Firouz and Rongar. This one will be a piece of cake."

Sinbad crooked a smile and finally met his brother´s gaze. "Of course it will be." he said, but it didn´t sound like he really meant it. He usually was an optimistic man, but right now that he saw new land approach he for the first time was seriously confronted with what he had escaped thinking about ever since this adventure had begun: he felt guilty. Mostly because he had been a coward against Maeve these past few days and still was. That, and the whole thing had made him do something no good captain should ever do: he had lost the focus on the safety of his crew. It was time he changed that. It was time he finally gained the backbone he would need to bring all of this to a good end. It would be hard to sail this ship with five people only, one of them being a woman who was not as used to sailing or rather, had forgotten what she had known, but they would make do. By the gods, they had to make do.

*********

It didn´t take long until they were nearly up to the shores of the unknown island. Soft sandy beaches rolling into the azure sea, light flooded forests a little further off and green hills slowly curving further in. It took them a while to realise why this island was unlike the others they had seen so far. It was nothing one could actually name, no difference so pronounced it could be described in words, but when he tried for himself, Sinbad caught himself thinking that everything looked… purer. Softer. There were hardly any rocks and those that they saw seemed to have no sharp edges but were shaped and crafted more like large white pebbles. And the flowers. When they came closer, he saw them. Hundreds and thousands of flowers close to the shores, blossoming around the shorelines down to the water´s edge and even beyond, flowers and petals of shining red and purple even out on the waves like sea roses, a strange but beautiful welcome. As they stirred the Nomad closer to the shore they found no cunning streams or sandbanks, but found the shore just softly leading to land, no dangers for their ship to get stuck at any point. Finally, they anchored and got into the rowing boats. None of the sailors spoke much, all of them too amazed by the beauty of this island, only few of them wary of this perfect peace, Sinbad among them. This place seemed so tranquil, so illusionary beautiful that it had him think there just had to be something wrong about it. Yet, an inner voice which sounded comforting and reliable told him there was nothing he had to fear here. It kept him wary.

"What is this place?" Maeve asked. She was sitting in the same rowing boat as he, leaned slightly to the side so she could snatch for the floating flower petals on the water. Sinbad briefly considered to tell her not to do that, but didn´t. "I don´t know." he replied. "I think none of us do."

"It´s almost like a paradise." Firouz said as they rowed the boat yet a little closer to the shore. "The flowers and beauty and everything."

"Almost." Sinbad said, looking ahead with a slight scowl.

As they were approaching, people had gathered at the shore. Men and woman of different ages, most of them clad in simple but elegant clothes that had a Greek touch to them. Sinbad looked for anything suspicious in their faces, but spotted nothing. The looks they received bore nothing but friendliness and curiosity. They waited until the boats were close, then some of the men waded into the water to aid the crew pull in the boats. All of this happened with little conversation, yet there was no awkwardness even though the open friendliness they received was somewhat bewildering. When they were done with the boats and looked around, Sinbad for the first time took in the full appearance of the people around them. There were not many of them, maybe a dozen, slightly more men than women. "My name is Sinbad." he said. "and this is my crew. We are on a journey and we need some water. What is this island called?" As a reply, a woman emerged from the small group. It was difficult to guess her age, she might have been roughly as old as Sinbad, maybe a little older and of striking beauty, her blonde hair going down over her shoulder.

"Welcome." she said, indicating a small bow. "you have arrived at the shore of the Island of Elysion, land of the Blessed."

When she spoke the name, Sinbad could hear a murmur go through the rows of his crew and he could tell they recognised the name. Well, who wouldn´t? "Elysion?" he repeated and the woman indicated a gracious nod. "Yes." she said. "There is nothing for you to fear here. Come." And she turned round and the little crowd gave way, some of them following the woman, others tarrying behind, regarding the crew with benevolent glances. Sinbad hesitated, then him and his friends followed.

"Elysion…" Sinbad felt Firouz poke his side slightly as he stepped up next to him. "this is extraordinary. The island of the Blessed. The resting place of heroes. It is all true. The legends are true." For him, the scientist that he was, this seemed to be quite a fascinating discovery and in this moment, much to his surprise, Sinbad gave a loud, cheerful laugh. "Way early for you to realize my friend." He said, patting the other man´s shoulder with a grin.

They walked for quite a while and as they walked the beauty of the island seemed to unfurl under their steps. Behind the shores came soft hills and after them a soft, green land with wide open plains and fields and flowers in plenty, all of them blossoming like in an eternal spring. They walked on in amazement, all their worries forgotten for now, many of them recalling the legends they had grown up with, legends about this island that Sinbad knew as well. The compass suddenly made sense. If this was in fact Elysion it meant they had reached the outer confines of the world, the western end. It also meant that they were not far from the underworld. Firouz had not been far from the truth with his idea this could be paradise… Elysion, Sinbad knew, was said to be the island where ancient heroes dwelled, heroes who had been so great in life they had not gone to the underworld but been brought to a land of eternal bliss and happiness right at the end of the world. It were legends that were remote to him, he had heard the Greeks talk about them and of course he had gotten around quite a lot. Only, he had never believed them to be true…

When he looked around, he saw some of the crew had disappeared, others were leaving the group as he was watching. "Where have they gone?" he asked, alarmed for a moment, but then he felt a hand touch his arm and when he turned his head he found the woman who had greeted them smile at him. "Do not worry for them." she said. "the island has a lot to offer and to discover for the weary. They will not be harmed. Come now, I will take you to the Lady of the Island. She will be interested in meeting you I should think." And she walked on, tossing him a smile over her shoulder before she did. Sinbad just stared after her before he turned towards his friends who were the only ones who were still with him – and caught Maeve tossing the blonde a somewhat poisonous glance.

"Well, we better hurry up to meet this Lady." Doubar said with a shrug and a look that clearly showed he was feeling at ease, before he lowered his voice only for them to hear. "especially if she is as beautiful as this one." Firouz gave a chuckle at that, Maeve gave a snort and walked ahead. They all caught up with her again. "What is your name by the way?" Sinbad asked. Their guide walked a little slower so she could walk next to the captain. "Helen." she said with a smile before she casually hooked her arm with Sinbad´s. "I heard stories about you, captain Sinbad. You will find the like of you here, I am sure."

"Ah." he just replied, feeling a little uncomfortable; which probably had to do with the fact that he felt Maeve´s eyes on his back. "that´s… interesting."

"It is." she replied patting his arm lightly.

"Could we maybe hurry up a little?" Maeve sounded annoyed now. "How far is it to this Lady of yours?"

Helen tossed a glance over her shoulder before she released Sinbad´s arm. Her smile remained friendly, but her eyes seemed to cool down a bit. "It is not far." she said. "I apologize. You must be tired and thirsty from the journey." Maeve did not reply and Sinbad decided it was possibly the best if he kept his tongue as well.


	25. Rest for the Haunted

_**Author´s note:**_

Okay, it´s been quite a while since the last update again and again I apologize. Well, maybe I can get away by pointing out that this chapter is a tad longer than usual and actually I´m quite fine with how it came out. Can´t wait to read your reviews and see if you agree.

**LilacKamiya**

Ick, sorry, I think I forgot to drop you a line on your review :-/ I´m currently watching season 2 and I think it´s not bad (which most likely has to do with me hopelessly drooling over Gesner in those tight pants (lawl)), but I´m really missing Maeve there. :-( Glad you like my story. :-)

**Ageofaagje**

Of course she is (pats Maeve´s head) and she´s never been good at hiding it. :-P

**Tai**

Well, that´s his twisted way of thinking with him trying to protect her. He lost her once, his biggest fear now is having to witness how he loses her again and this time forever, so he treats her like something very fragile. I think it doesn´t really have to do with pride or lack of trust, even though yep, the macho part is probably pretty much true. :-P

Btw, I´m particularly excited to see what you think about this chapter. :-)

**Isha**

Heh, thanks a lot. :-) I´m trying my best to make the two of them look in character and the relationship they have look real, so I´m really glad you see their chemistry is working out well :-)

**ila88:**

Hehe, so much fun to put in those little twists. (smirks) Well, we´ll see. Maybe they will be lucky for a change and not find themselves running for their lives in the next minute. :-)

**TiaKisu**

I would love to update more often, but alas (le sigh). Yep, well her jealousy would be a given no matter the circumstances and she has my fullest support and understanding there, heh. :P

**Isha once more**

Unfortunately my job keeps me awfully busy these days so I don´t manage to update that often :-( I hope you´ll bear with that though. ;-) So the answer to your question would be… now (throws up hands)

**Chapter 25**

**Rest for the haunted**

The first impression they had gotten of the island remained as Sinbad and the others continued along the way, following Helen through a light flooded forest. It was almost strange, even though a nice change, to be in an environment that seemed so calm and peaceful after those last few days where they had encountered so many dangerous situations and uncalled-for threats. It kept Sinbad wary even though he had to admit that the atmosphere of the place had an effect on him, making him relax and feel more safe and at ease. It seemed to be the same for his friends as he noticed when taking a glance at them while they walked along. Only Maeve seemed somewhat tense and he couldn´t help but inwardly smirk at guessing where that tension came from. He didn´t let that smirk show, as he didn´t feel up to teasing her right now. Not now that he had to make sure there was really no danger around. He still didn´t completely trust this place even though that was not apparent in his behaviour.

They walked for about half an hour, further and further inland, leaving the forest after a few minutes. Helen led them across a wide grassy plain, soft hills running through a landscape that had few rocks or sharp edges and that had everything look calm and peaceful. A river was running along the lowest point, the same colourful flowers they had seen at the shore, blossoming there. Trees and groups of trees were scattered across the landscape and there were people here and there, few and far between, but now and then they could hear voices drift by or laughter. They were all wearing clothes similar to Helen´s and some glanced over to the strangers as they walked by without any of them devoting more attention to them than a friendly nod of the head.

"This looks a lot like I think paradise would look like." Doubar said as he caught up with Sinbad. Helen turned her head. She had been walking alongside the captain again. "It is, in a way." she said with a thin but gracious smile and even though it didn´t mean anything to Sinbad right now which didn´t just have to do with Maeve watching the blonde like a hawk (which of course she would never have admitted), he had to admit she was indeed beautiful. "for those who come here. Elysion is the island on the very western edge of the world. You can not go any further to the west." Her words didn´t make too much sense to Sinbad, but before he could ask further questions, Helen turned her head back ahead and pointed to a path that started winding up a small hill. On top of that hill, partly hidden in huge and surely ancient trees was a house, but not a plump building of square stones, more like something that looked almost alive. Elegant. A building hard to describe but that as they approached it looked as if the trees were part of it. It looked like an inside and outside place all in one and Sinbad silently wondered how the inhabitants of this place kept dry when there was rain. The answer came from nowhere, almost at once: _There is no rain here. Only warmth. Only eternal spring…_

"The house of the Lady." Helen informed them as they walked closer and came to a halt. "Wait here, I shall tell her she has guests." And she walked off and into the house through a large, finely crafted archway made of white marble, ranked with ivy. Before she disappeared she tossed a glance over her shoulder and winked at Sinbad.

"Well, aren´t we feeling pretty?" Maeve said, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she stepped up to Sinbad, arms crossed over her chest, an eyebrow raised. Sinbad just turned his head to look at her but didn´t comment. He was too amused to say something right now, partly also because he somehow knew he would lose any verbal battle that could ensue right now. "A lot of fun I forgot with females salivating after you, eh?" she just said, her facial expression not changing. He meant to reply something, but before he could do so, he noticed a movement from the corner of his eye. A woman had stepped through the doorway. "You must be Sinbad." she said.

"I am." he replied watching her approach. "and these are my friends."

She was older than Helen, even though it was difficult to guess her age. She might have been around her fifties even though she kind of looked younger than that. Her hair was dark and reached down far over her shoulders in fine, small ringlets that had a few silver strands in it, showing she was not exactly young any more. Her eyes were betraying her age even more. Even though her overall statue made her appear younger, the look in her eyes spoke of wisdom and age. It reminded him of quite some pairs of eyes he had seen over the last few days. This look of eternity, immortality. He had seen that look in the cruel eyes of Ker, in the brutal playfulness of Eris… who she actually bore some resemblance to. There was little doubt.

"I am Philotes, lady of the island of Elysion." she introduced herself, holding her head with a grace that supported the image of a goddess that her eyes had already betrayed. "come. You must be hungry and after you have eaten I would like to talk to you." She turned, not waiting for a reply and obviously used to her commands being obeyed even though her words were friendly. When the crew hesitated she turned around, her eyebrows slightly raised in question.

"You must excuse our caution." Sinbad said. "but we have reasons to be wary against the gods." It was a daring thing to say and he was well aware of that, but he figured it would be best to play with open cards. If she was hostile against them she would show that attitude later anyways, best to get things straight from the start. He could feel that Maeve who was still standing next to him was tense.

Philotes just looked at him for a few long seconds, but there was no anger in her eyes because of the captain´s defiance. Then she lowered her eyes. "I seldomly hear of what is going on in the world." she said finally. "but I think I can guess what you have been through that you have savely arrived at my island. If you want to, you are free to go, but as for your suspicion let me tell you, I am not in allegiance to my brothers and sisters that were set up against you."

"Why should we believe you?" It was Maeve who asked.

Philotes didn´t reply to that, just turned and went back inside, as if to emphasis her words about free leave. This time, they followed her.

****************

Of course they were all hungry and after days of danger and not too much food, the crew gladly accepted the rich meal that was offered to them in the house of the goddess. Sinbad was not sure what caused it and was well aware that it might be the workings of some magic, but they soon lost their mistrust. Still, he made sure to stay near Maeve, even though he did not do so consciously. It was more a protective instinct he had always felt for her but that was getting stronger with the days, because he knew what was at stake. When they were finished dining, evening was already approaching and Sinbad remembered what he had come to this island for. He knew it would be too late to leave Elysion before the next morning, he would have to talk to the crew before that and tell them he intended to leave them here for now, he would also have to pack new water and food if the Lady so allowed and his men and Maeve as he could see clearly were in dire need of some rest, little time as they had. The lady seemed to know that since she offered them places for the night in her house, beautiful, elegant rooms with beds far more comfortable than those on the Nomad, everything perfectly matching the notion of paradise that seemed to engulf the island. Some of the sailors made straight for their rooms while others lingered behind, eager to explore the island a little even though night was setting by now. The house of Philotes had a large garden to it that invited for looking around. "I would like to have a word with you." the Lady said to Sinbad when she had shown them to their rooms. "in the garden, if you would follow me." He followed her only too gladly. There were quite some questions that needed to be asked.

The garden was a huge areal with a huge number of exotic plants and flowers, many of the like Sinbad had never seen before, many blossoming even as the sun was nearly set. As Sinbad stepped out of the house, Philotes started to walk along a gravel path and he followed and for a moment she did not say a word. He stayed silent, a strange sort of respect having taken hold of him. It didn´t seem fit to talk before she did.

"You´ve brought them here safely." she then started. "that speaks for you. It shows you are stronger than my siblings think."

"I lost two men." Sinbad replied unable to keep a tint of bitterness from his voice. "and it was luck I didn´t lose more. It is merely luck nobody else died."

"You have been through a lot." Philotes said after letting his words sink in for a brief moment. "and if there is anything I can do to help you on your quest, I will."

"I think I will come back to this offer." Sinbad said, immediately thinking about his crew and a place for them to stay. "but before that, I would like to know why all of this is happening." It was a bluff. He didn´t know if she could tell him anything, he just assumed she knew something.

"You mean, why my siblings do the bidding of a mortal sorceress?" she asked, coming to a halt and giving him a weak smile. He just looked at her, wondering what made him be so forward against her, a goddess, but decided it had to do with the fact that he had had to brave up against quite some of that kind recently. "Yes." he just said.

"Well…" she walked on. "It is a long story." The sun had set by now, the garden was illuminated with the soft lights of lanterns. "I know how it all came to pass, but I do not know what exactly happened to you and your crew these last few days."

"I think I can make do with what you know." he said.

Philotes turned to look at him and for once he thought he had gone to far with his tone. He braved her gaze for a moment before he couldn´t bear it any longer and looked away. There was something in her eyes that made him waver, not the cruelty of her siblings, not their arrogance, but something else. Something that reached deeply into his heart. He looked away.

"You have a strong heart, Sinbad." she said. "as has your girl. If it wasn´t for that, she would have faded already, but her soul, too, is powerful, even though it has already started to wither." He didn´t reply to that and somehow managed to meet her gaze again. She changed the topic, just as if she was just finding her way back to the question he had asked a moment ago.

"Those you encountered the last days," she said. "are my siblings. And I do have more, so your journey, as you continue, will not become easier."

She walked over to a bench and sat down, bidding him to sit next to her. He obeyed, drawn by the power in her eyes.

"With many of my siblings I have never been close." she said. "it was in our nature to be contrasts. Different sides. They couldn´t understand my devotion to affection." She paused for a moment before she continued, this time without hesitating or interrupting herself.

"In the old times I was close with one of my sisters. She held a deep love for the sea and for the humans who shared that love. One day she fell in love with a mariner, but the mortal did not feel for her, for he had given his heart to a human woman as he should. It broke her heart and she sent a storm to drown his ship. The mariner died in the storm, his spouse stayed behind and my sister indulged in her grief even though it could never heal her broken heart.

There are many tales about the gods and those capable of magic know many of them. The sorceress Rumina knew the story about my sister, who calls herself Nemesis these days ever since her heart was broken, and she came looking for her. Rumina told my sister her own story. How a sailor had taken her heart and killed her father, how she longed for him and how he wouldn´t answer her love. Nemesis sympathised and when Rumina submissively asked her to aid her in her revenge, she accepted.

Nemesis has always been one of the most powerful of us siblings." Philotes continued. "my brothers and sisters are loyal to her and, remembering what a mortal did to her, only too readily agreed on taking part in Rumina´s revenge. Together, Rumina and Nemesis sought for our brother, Hypnos and with his help, the sorceress managed to enchant the girl that the man who denied her loved." She looked at Sinbad and he knew who she was talking about. "Hypnos cast sleep over Maeve." she then continued. "and his spell was far more powerful than her magic. Like this, Rumina took her to a far away island and later worked her own magic to lure you there.

It was there that she plotted how she could best revenge for what she felt you had done to her and it was Nemesis who suggested a pact with Hades, our brother. They figured that by taking Maeve´s soul and leaving you only a few days to retrieve it, this would be the worst for you to suffer. With Maeve not remembering you and you knowing that she was slowly fading away even though it might not show until the very end. You would sail the oceans with just a little hint of where to turn, you would fight but in the end they think you will fail. It was the most cruel torture Rumina could think of – slowly killing the woman you prefer over her while you try your best and fail at saving her.

But there was more to it. Doing something like this is unnatural and even the gods can not bend the rules of life so drastically. There has to be balance. A favour for a favour and so it happened that Rumina made a deal with Hades. She offered him Maeve´s soul which would be his after seven days. A soul like Maeve´s is a great gift." Philotes explained. "Maeve is a sorceress and therefore her soul is stronger than a normal human´s. Also, she loves which makes her soul even stronger. In exchange for the soul, Hades offered Rumina something. Even he could not grant her immortality in return, but he promised her that death would pass her by three times when her time would come. He found that a fit exchange for so powerful a soul and she accepted, glad that she had not only gotten her revenge but extended her own life as well."

After that Philotes fell silent. Sinbad had just listened, taking in what she said, slowly feeling how everything suddenly started to make sense. Especially why gods and goddesses were at Rumina´s demand. He didn´t know what to say for now, it was as if her words weighed heavily on him, yet it was like a weight was lifted from him at the same time. It made him feel confused and he didn´t like confusion. He liked to have things under control and right now he felt he hadn´t. He felt like he couldn´t even control his own emotions in her presence. It made him feel like a young boy and he tried to fight that feeling.

"It all makes sense." he said, his voice sounding strangely flat. She just sat there, watching him.  
"I knew parts of this. Rumina told me. I…" he interrupted himself, then spoke on. "I was scared to tell Maeve all of what I knew."

"Why?" Philotes simply asked.

"I didn´t want to to break her." he explained. "She tried to jump over board when we took her with us. She was so confused. I thought, telling her everything would be too much."

"She still doesn´t know who you are?" Philotes asked, her voice calm. It was strange. It had been years since he had had a conversation like that, where he just spilled out his heart to someone. He was the captain, he usually couldn´t afford weak moments like that, but now he felt he could. And he had to. He needed to. And her calm demeanour stripped him of all self defence and of all the walls he had built up around himself during the time he had been separated from Maeve. He just talked.

"She knows she was enchanted and that she used to know all of us. She doesn´t know we are sailing to the underworld to save her soul."

Philotes nodded at that. "I don´t know why I didn´t tell her." Sinbad said.

"You were right not to tell her." The goddess said and he met her eyes, somewhat confused. He had felt guilty about holding back this most important information from Maeve and now he was told it was the right thing to do?

"A soul that is separated from its body is even more fragile than a soul usually is." the goddess explained. "the knowledge that your soul is gone can destroy it." He lowered his eyes in slight confusion as she continued. "only if someone feels great affection for someone else, he will notice that. You instinctively protected her all along. Even though this will not work until the end. But so far you did the best you could."

This actually was some comfort to him, telling him after all these days of doubts that he had not failed. At least not yet. "But…" Philotes said and got up from the bench to face him. "…have you told her what there was between you before it all happened? Before you were separated?"

Again he found himself incapable of meeting her eyes. "No." he said with a slight smirk. "Well, actually there was never… I mean, we never…"

To his surprise, Philotes laughed at that. "Sinbad." she told him. "the gods can not read mortal minds, but they see them more clearly. There is no way of denying your feelings to her." She became more serious again. "and you should tell her. It will not break her." She walked closer and took his chin with her hand, making him meet her gaze softly, like a mother would do with a child when trying to make a point. "there is nothing wrong with that. It would only be wrong to deny her that knowledge. Love is powerful Sinbad. Why deny her that power?"

His throat suddenly felt strange and he noticed with embarrassment that his voice would break if he tried to talk now. He quickly scanned the garden with his eyes and found it was deserted, there was no one here to watch them. _No one to witness you going weak for once_, a tiny voice told him. _Nothing wrong with that …_ But his adult self, the protective, the captain part of him tried to deny him the right of feeling weak. Of just for one time letting down his defences completely. He felt he was nearly there already. He almost felt like a little boy again, yearning for comfort. He had been through a lot. He had missed her so terribly, more than he had even dared to admit to himself and now she was back and all this bad stuff was happening and he didn´t think he could live up to it …

Without noticing it, he was just staring blankly ahead of him, not noticing Philotes had sat down next to him again before she placed a hand on his shoulder, a faint smile audible in her voice as she spoke. "This island…" she said. "is paradise in many ways. The heroes of the world come here to rest. Allow yourself to rest for once, Sinbad. You can not always be strong."

Her voice, her words were so soft and alluring that they had a stronger effect on him than all the danger of the last days had. The strange feeling in his throat didn´t feel better when he straightened slightly and turned towards her. "All this time," he said. "she has been the only one for me. And for so long I have been looking for her." Philotes smiled. "And you will find her again." she said. Wordlessly he allowed her to place his head against her shoulder. His crew would never get to know this. They would never know that in this night there was a moment when their brave captain took new strength again from a simple moment of tranquillity, his head rested against the shoulder of the goddess, his defences defeated, a huge knot loosening around his heart. Philotes had woven a simple spell around the garden to keep others from intruding. He needed it. No one but the Goddess of Affection saw him weep.


	26. Over a sip of wine

_**Author´s note:**_

_Okay, first of all, a general and honest thank you for the reviews I got for the last chapter. With me sitting at my desk, being up to my ears in far too much work, they really, really made my day. Therefore, I love you all. :-) Here´s a new chapter, one with an evil cliffhanger, mwahahaha. :-D_

_By the way. I watched some episodes of season 2 by now and I am starting to wonder what the script writers were thinking. Possibly this has to do with the fact that my dear Maeve is gone :( which makes me like this season far less than I liked 1, but… where´s the chemistry and humour of the show? The verbal banters? I know, a lot of that fed of the atmosphere between Sinbad and Maeve but there is other stuff as in… what happened with those plots? Most of it is okay but erm… space ships and aliens? Please? _

… _I have to admit though that they had one good idea for season two, which was putting Gesner into those tight leather pants, mwahaha. :P_

**TiaKisu**

Heh, aw, thanks a lot for your kind words. :-)

Nope, the story with Nemesis and her seafaring lover is my own. Just a little tidbid of a reoccurring mythological element so to say to enter my whole set of ideas. It´s actually a theme that is rather common with stories about Gods and the sea etc., you´ll find a very similar motif if you ever watched At World´s End. What is definitely taken from Greek mythology is the whole framework. Relations of the gods and goddesses as being siblings, the "areas" of responsibility etc. Elysion is part of Greek mythology, too even though in real mythology a human called Rhadamantis is its king. I altered it a bit and made Philotes the lady of the island to make it fit in with the whole frame story.

Thanks for the support. Well, actually, this story is one of the examples I experience now and then where characters just have sort of a head of their own. It´s easy to write them kinda in character under such conditions, the disadvantage is that they can be kind of stubborn like that. Just like him there. I just go with the flow in how he deals with things and see where it leads me and that is where it led me. :-)

And yep, this was what made the scene interesting to write for me, because in a way this is totally untypically Sinbad yet something I found interesting exploring as a writer and where I think it is very well possible for something like this to happen under the given circumstances. He needed a valve for his tension to recharge his batteries.

**Ageofaagje**

Wouldn´t we all? Aw well, patience. ;-)

Sorry for me being slow again. I hope that will change soon.

**Ila88**

Wow, thanks for that. :-) I was hoping that little tale would make all pieces fall into place (as far as they can for now).

I kind of like Philotes, too. I don´t really know why. Possibly also because she´s not one of these females trying to jump him right away (even though, who could blame them (coughs)).

**Isha**

And still, every single review is very much appreciated :-) Yup, hope that still kind of qualifies as soon for ya. :-)

**Tai**

Hehe, something tells me it could be fun to put you into the same room with my version of Sinbad, cause something tells you he might get some bruises ;-) Not that that would be a problem or too bad. Anyways, fun aside, I really appreciate your side of things, it´s always good to have several views on one and the same story cause it tells you a lot about how behaviour comes across which can sometimes be totally different as I myself perceive it. As I wrote a little further to the top, sometimes I feel as if my stories kind of develop a life of their own and yes, that definitely is the part with Sinbad. I have to admit that there are moments when I want to give him a smack on the back of the head, even though I still believe his actions do not result form being big headed but more from being over careful. And yes, I agree, trust could become an issue if he keeps it up. Well, ye shall see. :)

Hehe, I promise you will definitely see something into that direction, some mean part of you just likes to be a tease.

**MidnightDew**

Thanks. Good to hear that from you, because depth is what I am aiming at. :-)

**Chapter 26**

**Over a ****sip of wine**

He knew he should make use of the peace of this place and retire for the night and have a good few hours of proper sleep in a comfortable bed that allowed him undisturbed dreams. But he couldn´t find rest. As night had fallen completely and was drawing towards midnight, Sinbad was sitting on a rock that was a little away from the garden. He hadn´t felt up to a long walk in the dark even though he would have liked to watch the waves as he usually did when feeling thoughtful. It had taken them quite a time earlier that day to get here and in case he decided to go to bed somewhat later, he would have to walk all the way back and walk the night away till morning. This rock was good enough, standing out a little above the rest at the rim of the garden, not in a way that had him shine out against the night, but predominant enough to allow him a look over the sea – even if from afar. He could faintly see the ripples of waves breaking, leaving dim white trails of spray that shone like something alive under a bright moon and cloudless sky. He could hear laughter from a little off and turning his head to look over the plains below the villa of the lady, just down the path, he could make out the shapes of about a dozen people grouped around a tree that was hung with colourful lanterns, obviously enjoying themselves over some good company and some wine. He couldn´t tell if there were some of his men among them, but thought to recognize one or two of them, one of the younger sailors with his arm loosely draped across the shoulders of a slender brunette. With a wry smile he told himself that maybe it would be easy to make them agree to his plans. Apart from that group, there was another, smaller one, a little further off and apart from that there was no one , and the garden behind him at fallen completely silent.

He didn´t know how much time he had spent there with Philotes. It might have been minutes or maybe longer. Time didn´t really seem to matter in this place, but no matter how long he had been sitting there, his head against her shoulder, he felt it had done him some good. It had not taken away his worry for Maeve, nor had it eased the problem of how to break it to the crew that he intended on leaving most of them here (or the problem of how to navigate the Nomad with only half a dozen people), but he felt that he had needed something like this, maybe for a longer time than he dared to admit to himself. He felt better now without knowing what had caused that change, he felt stronger again, strong enough for the first time in days, for the unfair challenge Rumina had forced upon him.

_There is no way of denying your feelings for her…_ The words of the goddess were still clearly present in his mind, had been swirling around there for long moments now, ever since he had come here to think. No. He knew that she was right, but it wasn´t that easy… or was it? Ever since Maeve and him had met for the very first time, there had been this special something between them. He had never been able to properly describe it and there had been no necessity to do so, since it had gone without saying. And even now that Maeve had forgotten about everything they had been through together, it seemed to him as if this something was still there. Yes, he had feelings for her, of course he had, and even though he had never admitted that out loud to anybody until now, there was no denying it. It had always been part of a game, part of their way of being around each other. They would have their verbal banters and flirty glances, she would get mad at him now and then for his cockiness and yes, he had always liked the poisonous glances she would toss random females who got too close to him for her taste even though she would most likely rather have her tongue ripped out than admit her jealousy. Those other women had never interested him and that had been part of the fun. That was how things had always been with them. Chase. Challenge. Ambiguities and glances … and awkwardness in moments when the border of these subtleties had been crossed. He chuckled to himself at that, finding all of this to be nice and good memories – and feeling a strange surge in his soul at the knowledge that she shared none of these memories with him any more. This realisation only set his mind more firmly on his task. He would save her, no matter how difficult it would get. No matter what it meant for him or what would happen.

_There is no way in denying …_ his inner voice reminded him that he had again lost track of what was essential. Should he follow Philotes´ advice and just tell her what he felt for her? It was a difficult decision to make for so many reasons, but right now he was starting to wonder if any of them was valid. What did really matter after all, knowing that they were nearing the end of this journey, that this journey would be over no matter what and very soon in one way or the other? Maybe what some people said about women was right. Maybe they did know better about such things. Maybe he should really tell her. Noone expected him to propose to her in front of the whole crew or something after all. He nearly snorted at himself at the thought. Yes, right, that would be something they would jab on about for months. But could he really let her live on her possibly painfully short life… no, he forced the thought away … but could he really afford not telling her? Did he have the right to do so? Watching the waves, the answer was suddenly clear in his head. It all did make sense if one only asked the right questions. Glancing down at the group of merry people below him, he wondered if Maeve was sleeping already. He took a deep breath and got to his feet.

Just when he did, he could hear footsteps behind him. Light footsteps, barely audible on the grass, but the person approaching did not seem to be overly intend on not being heard even though she – a light step like this could only belong to a woman – seemed to be approaching hesitantly. Sinbad remained where he was, standing now and facing towards the sea, listening intently and wondering if he should turn around or wait until Maeve spoke to him, pretending he had not heard her come. He suddenly found his thoughts all jumbled. _You´re a man, Sinbad_, his inner voice scolded. _Act like one_. He hesitated for another moment, before he half turned and tossed a glance across his shoulder.

But instead of the red-headed sorceress, he found someone else standing there, just a few steps away from him, an elegantly shaped bottle of whine in one hand.

"So alone?" Helen asked, making a step towards him. He didn´t answer at once, feeling relief and disappointment at the same time that she wasn´t who he had expected … hoped her to be. She approached further. "Your men seem to be having quite a good time." she said, smiling at him. "You should join them."

"I had something to think about." he just replied with half a smile of his own, but this smile being less honest and more for reasons of manners.

"Think about?" Her voice sounded as if she was on the verge of being tipsy, but still had perfect control about herself. He could tell that the sway in her step did not result from the alcohol, but had other purposes. As did the tone in her voice. He was familiar with that kind of behaviour. He had often responded to it. But not this time. "What would one have to think about all alone, shying away from some fun in a place that is, after all, what people call paradise?" Her voice sounded sweet, almost seductive, and surely on purpose so.

"Many things." Sinbad said, giving no sign of responding to the flirt in Helen´s demeanour. "Nothing I would want to trouble you with."

"I see." she said, before giving a half elegant, half dismissive motion of her hand. "Put aside your troubles for now, Sinbad." she said, walking even closer and taking him by the arm. "why not have a bit of wine? You know... It´s such a beautiful night."

He shook his head slightly and placed his hand on her smaller one – to gently loosen her grip. "Not tonight." he said, meeting her eyes, making sure she understood. "I am feeling tired. I think I should go to sleep now."

He couldn´t exactly tell if that angered or annoyed her, a raised eyebrow was all he got but that could have been amusement as well as annoyance. "And put down all manners?" she asked, with a light, ringing laugh. "what a way to show gratitude for some hospitality to deny someone an innocent glass of wine."

He gave her a raised eyebrow in return, but had to admit she had a point. Still, there were more urgent matters he had to tend to and wondered how to best get away without seeming rude or insulting her sense of hospitality.. "I do not expect you to drink away the night with me." Helen said with a sigh. "even though you would make some fine company for sure. Let us make it a good night drink then and I will dismiss you to your rest. Only do not deny me the joy of sharing that. We are a joyous people here, Sinbad, nothing more than that."

Fine, he thought. "Just a moment." he said, suppressing a sigh and somehow managing a smile. "I am really tired you must know. We had a long way." "I know." she said before handing him the wine. "and may your journey lead to whatever end you desire." He nodded in affirmation to that, before he drank – not much, just a little sip, pretending it had been more. He had to admit it was good wine, one of the best he had ever tasted and it was strong. He knew he could cope with quite a lot, but he also knew a strong wine when he tasted one. "Excellent wine." he said, before handing back the bottle, his smile growing a little wider than before, feeling that his features and body language relaxed and thinking nothing of it.

"It is." Helen said with something that could have been interpreted as an almost cunning smile. "Many things on Elysion are… excellent." And again she touched his arm and moved closer.

If Sinbad was honest with himself he had to admit that he was no saint, had not been one in the time Maeve had been gone. He had kissed many women, even though he had felt that spark, that special something with no one but Maeve in all this time. And this spark was not there either right now. Beautiful as this woman was, she did not hold this special magic for him. But still.. for some reason he was starting to wonder whether it was worth the effort to work his reflexes … to withdraw his arm from her hand which was now sneaking up past his elbow … with his thoughts strangely slowed down, he wondered why he should bother to pull back his head while he was watching that of the woman move towards his inch by inch, her eyes fixed on his lips. All he did was stand transfixed, and then something inside him clicked. And his left hand snapped forward, gently but still insistently snatching and getting hold of her left wrist. "An excellent wine indeed." he said, the expression on his face a clear sign that he had seen through her. The wine. Of course.

He released her hand again and she stepped back only now making him notice how close she had really been, making him see how much the wine had fogged up his senses in so short a moment. There was no question that this was no real wine. He gave her a long look. "If you will excuse me now…" he said, declining his head. Inwardly he was growling slightly. Whatever she thought was fit to have some fun surpassed his limits of proper. "If I hear you get near my crew with that wine, you´ll be in trouble." he said, his voice still relatively calm, but his eyes fierce. He was maybe giving off too small signals and he knew he might have been more insistant but it proved to be somewhat difficult to shake off the effect of whatever she had put into the wine. He felt inward relief he had not swallowed more.

She shrank back from him a little, not in fear, but clearly pouting. "I can have men under my spell." she said, her voice smooth but telling of irritation. "I always have. Wars were fought for my love. Cities fell. Heroes died."

"I know." Sinbad said, realisation of who she was slowly sinking in. Elysion, island of heroes of old. Resting place of many that were in the old stories. Her words made sense. Everything about her suddenly did. "I guess it´s not easy being you if the stories are true." He replied. "But neither is being me. So I would advise you to take my warning, Helen of Troy." And with that, he gave her a last, stern look and turned to leave. Maeve. He had to look for her, and by now he no longer cared if she was sleeping or not. He had sorted things out for himself, he had set his priorities straight, maybe these last two minutes had even strengthened them, like some last test. Even if he woke there, maybe, he thought with an inward smirk, maybe there were things worth being woken for. He had to talk to her. Now.

When he meant to walk away, however, again, he froze in his step. There, not too far away from him, but not quite in earshot of calmly exchanged words, he could make out a very familiar shape. A very familiar set of eyes meeting his for the shortest of moments before Maeve turned abruptly and quicklydisappeared into the night. Sinbad cursed inwardly. "Maeve." he called out, his voice strangely giving hardly an echo at all when he abandoned Helen and her attempts of seduction and set off to follow the one he really cared for.


	27. Confusions

**Author´s note:**

_And once more my lame excuse for a late update is: sorry, guys, I was awfully busy. My job´s been quite demanding the last couple of weeks, so I´m definitely glad my vacation started this week, so I can give my dear readers a nice pre-Christmas update, heh :-)_

_Oh, also, on a semi related note: is there anyone of the Sinbad fans out there who would be interested in starting a forum based RPG? If you´re not sure you know what I mean, message me and I´ll explain and send you a link. :-) And particularly if you´re interested, do send me a message or e-mail me. All roles are still vacant, with exception of the main part. :-P I have some minor ideas for a plot but first of all I´d need players and proper advertising, so… really, I´d love you guys to let me know in case you´re interested. :-)_

_**Tai:**_

_Heh, interesting thought with Rumina. :-) But no, isn´t her, definitely. I picture Elysion as a place protected by Philotes and pretty much a paradise and even though intrigue and stuff like that are not excluded from the place, Rumina does have no influence there. _

_A forced kiss would be a disaster me thinks. The rest has a lot of what I pictured. I´d love to see how you think it turned out :-)_

_**TiaKisu**_

_Mwahahaha :-D Okay okay, done with the cliffhanger (tosses the new chapter)_

_Actually, wow, he has a lot of explaining to do, I found myself in that trap when writing the new chapter. Quite a bit will have to wait and be sorted out at a later point. This chapter was definitely hard to write in that respect, phew. _

_Much to my shame I have to admit that I never watched Arielle or read it, neither Disney nor any other version. (puts that on her to do list)_

_(shifty eyes) It was Sunday for me, too. And that episode. Hey, you´re from Germany? _

_**Ila88**_

_Yeah, I seriously can´t imagine why females would want to do that… I mean… jump him…er…yeah (coughs). I guess what pretty much ruined my image of Helen of Troy, or helped in ruining it was the movie Troy. Never had such a good laugh like I had with that sissy movie couple, waaaah. _

_**Isha**_

_Meh, sorry. :-( I had lots of stuff to do and them kids want to have their exams back and graded at some point too. (sighs). Aw well, enough with my whining, next chappy is up. Hope you enjoy. :-)_

**Chapter 27**

**Confusion**

Earlier, Sinbad would have called the light that came off the sporadically placed torches and lanterns as peaceful and cozy – now, when he nearly stumbled over a stone step that he had not seen in the dim light, he cursed those thoughts. He scrambled on, one hand grabbing for hold and brushing away the branches of some exotic plant. He did not bother to take his proper leave from Helen of Troy, he just abandoned the blonde woman, her slight protest passing him by like through some sort of trance, his eyes and mind fixed on the pair of feet that just vanished from his sight on the other end of the garden. "Maeve." His voice sounded strange, bellowing through the warm twilight, an unwelcome disruption of peace it seemed. She did not stop and had a head start – for a moment he had lost sight of her, but followed her into the direction he had seen her disappear.

A short run, a few hurried leaps and he had left the garden behind. A nicely tended pathway led away from it, down the hill and sidewards into a forest. It gave her cover, he knew and she was heading for it, the light of the torches briefly settling on her red hair, letting it blaze up like a flame. For the few short moments it took her to hurry down the hill and into the forest, he saw her. Sinbad did not waste any time on yelling after her once more, but sped up, coming closer but not quite catching up. Once more, when the branches of nightly trees closed around her, she escaped from him. He followed, his breath hurried, his heart beating hard, trying to find his way in the darkness, trying to listen to the sound of her steps. She was not far from him, maybe a few paces ahead now and a branch she had pushed aside snapped back and painfully lashed at his cheek. He barely felt the pain.

"Maeve, wait. Please."

His thoughts were racing. His earlier conversation with Philotes had confused his mind and yet set it strangely clear. He had been about to seek her out and now he had managed to mess it all up. _Great_, he thought. _Just great_. He forced all torturing thoughts from his mind, trying to concentrate on not losing her trace in the dark, but failed. _You ruined it, you fool. You are a coward, now you have to pay for it. Great, Sinbad. Rumina would be pleased. _

Once more, he nearly stumbled when he caught sight of her, only half a dozen steps ahead of him, in a moment when she tossed her red hair to look back at him, still running. Cursing under his breath he barely managed to avoid a fall. Stumbling in the dark in a forest, on unknown territory was dangerous. One could get lost, one could fall into holes, or other natural traps, but he did not care about the risk he put himself in. He just ran on.

Unexpectedly, the forest opened up into a clearing, silver moonlight illuminating the place so their silhouettes were just visible in the twilight. And there she stopped. All of a sudden. And just as quickly, in the blink of an eye, a fireball appeared on her hand. He stopped in his tracks, so abruptly that the movement or sudden lack thereof sent sharp pain through his ankles. Thoughts were racing through his head, the most immediate of these being that she was using magic – most likely from reflex. He could tell by the look in her eyes she was angry, her gaze seemed to flicker in the bright light of the light on her palm and he raised his hands carefully in a gesture of defeat and begging her to listen.

"Wait…" he said, his breath coming in gasps from the run. When he spoke the word he noticed it was an unnecessary thing to say since she had already stopped running from him, but figured it was rather meant as an attempt of calming her – he didn´t know. Couldn´t tell. His mind was in an uproar, his reason with painful slowness trying to come up with something to tell her. It was out of question that she had drawn wrong conclusions from what she had seen and his mind and heart automatically and without his notice fell back into tracks of old habit: denial. "It wasn´t what it looked like." he half panted, half reassuring, his hands still raised, his head slightly bent down. She just glared at him, one hand almost closed around the unsteadily pulsating orb of light. "What was it supposed to look like then?" he snapped and he could tell by the tone in her voice that she was furious. "why would I bother about you turning the heads of some blond nymphette?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it. "If you didn´t, why would you run away?" he then asked, his voice sounding more aggravated than he had intended. Her answer was nonverbal, just a half angry, half stubborn, unarticulated exclamation, then she tossed the fireball into his direction. She didn´t take proper aim he could tell, but the thing nonetheless was rather close and he ducked his head. "Maeve." He called out once more when the light extinguished, leaving them in the dark and the only sounds to be heard her foot steps trotting away once more. This time he did catch up with her and grabbed her by the arm. Not demandingly. She shook him off and he obeyed. "Maeve, listen." he insisted, painfully aware of the fact that his every word had to sound as helpless as he felt right now. Oh how he hated moments where he wasn´t in control…

She whirled around to him once more. "Oh, I´m sorry to have interrupted your little get together." she hissed. "and now leave me alone, captain." The last word was probably the most hurtful. She never called him that, only in teasing and this tone was far from it. He halted in his step and she did a few more steps, then, to his surprise, stopped, but faced away from him. Even in the dim outline the moonlight gave him, could he tell she had her arms crossed in front of her chest. "It was no ... ´get together´" he said, deliberately sounding as calm as he could and taking care the last two words did not come across as mocking. "I actually…thought she was you, I…"

Now she did turn her head. "And there I thought sailors had better eyes." she said, her voice dripping with aggravated sarcasm. He couldn´t tell in the dark, but pictured one of her eyebrows raised at her words. "Oh…hey, whatever." she said then, before he could even reply to that, throwing her arms up in annoyance. "I don´t care who you´re making out in the dark with okay? Sheesh, I don´t, I….even…" Another exclaim of frustration.

He said nothing. Both of them knew she was lieing. Her reaction betrayed her, more clearly than anything else. If she really didn´t care, she would have shrugged and excused herself, she would not have run from him. They both knew. And therefore there was no good in him pointing it out to her as he would have done, had this been one of their playful verbal banters. This was no moment for this kind of joking. He waited for her to finish her stammered ranting, all the while feeling frustration and anger against himself rise in his chest. Why was he such an idiot? Philotes had been so right about what she had suggested to him earlier. It was something he should have done a lot earlier.

For a moment they just stood there, half a dozen steps apart from each other or maybe a little more, her arms still crossed and her body half turned away from him as much as he could tell in the dark. "I was …" he began, then started anew. "I wanted to look for you, actually."

She didn´t reply but he could tell from the slight shift in her movement that she was expecting him to go on most likely. "I have…been thinking Maeve. And I… well, I´ve not been honest."

She gave no sign of movement and he went on, trying to make out her reaction. It was near impossible with what little light the moon gave off. "Whatver you just saw, it wasn´t what it looked like and I was actually… looking for you because I…" _By the gods, listen to you, Sinbad_, he inwardly scolded himself. _Stammering like a fool, repeating nonsense._ Staring into the darkness he rewinded to the conversation he had had with the goddess earlier, trying to gain strength from it. "…there is something I didn´t tell you." he concluded, altering the sentence after a few seconds´ thought.

He could see she was moving her head, looking down at her feet or something near them now, but she still wasn´t talking and it unsettled him. He would have preferred her yelling at him, but it didn´t come and that was irritating and making him insecure. He fully admitted that to himself.

"Everything," he said, "I told you is true. All the adventures we´ve been through together, did happen. But I… I´ve been a coward. Not now but ever since we met. Before all of this. I…we… I fell in love with you Maeve. From the first moment I saw you."

The silence around them, despite the wind stirring the leaves and the small noises of little night animals and birds, seemed complete, suffocating almost, like something dense settling between them, yet at the same time it felt strangely freeing. He couldn´t even describe it. And it was particularly strange since the air seemed dense between them all of a sudden, more dense than ever before. The silence only lasted a few very short seconds, but it seemed to last much longer to him, and then again, her reaction came all of a sudden… and was unexpected. One moment she stared at him, the other he suddenly felt a hard shove against his chest when she pushed him, her smaller hands so fierce and forceful that he could do nothing but give a soundless gasp and stumble backwards. Sinbad lost his balance and fell flat on his bottom into the luckily rather soft grass where only a stray branch made his landing a little less comfortable and caused him to stifle a groan. He looked up to her, baffled and tried to be back on his feet but she didn´t let him. In a second she was over him and had him grabbed by the collar. Funny, he would later think, funny how he would face the strangest creatures without a blink of fear and yet when she glared at him like that he felt terrified in a way untypical for him. A strange mix of fear, anger at himself, resignation and despair.

"Really?"

Sinbad could see the white in her eye flash briefly in the silver moonlight as she shook his collar. He did not show resistance. "Really?" Maeve repeated, her voice barely more than a hiss, telling him everything about how furious she was with him. he had never seen her like that around him, even though the angry glimmer in her eyes wasn´t exactly anything new to him. "and you decide telling me now? After I…after I spent several days around you not knowing what to… what to do with the strange signals my feelings give me, not doing…anything to help this chaos…"

She paused for a moment, but seemingly not to give him a chance to reply, rather to take a few hurried breaths. Before she continued, her grip on his collar tightened a little more. "damn you, Sinbad, you mess around with me and then you tell me you don´t and you fell in love with me? Just after I caught you flirting with some random girl? That doesn´t exactly make your … story sound true."

He let her rant at him, her words raining down on him like little fist punches that he did not even try to avoid. He deserved them all, he knew he did.

"But it is." he said when she had stopped talking, obviously too aggravated to go on. "I swear it is true and I am a fool for never telling you."

She gave him a long look, her features not changing much according to what he could tell with the little light. A few long seconds passed between them and once more he found himself clueless in guessing what she would do next. Yell some more? Slap him? Just get up and leave? He didn´t have the slightest idea and it unsettled him and made him sad because that either meant he didn´t know her half as well as he would have wished or that he had wound her up so terribly that he forced her into patterns of behaviour untypical of her and impossible to foresee for him. He hoped it was the latter and yet that did not help to feel him any less terrible about it.

She did none of what he had thought she would. After another moment of staring at him, helplessness emanating from her just as much as fury, she got to her feet and released his collar. She straightened up and turned away from him, but did not leave. Sinbad´s thoughts were racing. He had his strengths, things he was good at, but just as he had always failed at being honest about his feelings towards her, being honest for once put him into a situation where he felt like he couldn´t get anything right. He got to his feet slowly, as if trying not to make her change her mind and run away as he thought she might have and then it dawned on him that probably the only reason she was not doing just that was that she was just as proud and stubborn as he was at times. And despite the feeling of helplessness he found himself in that thought made him proud and feel better.

"I´m sorry." he said, his voice low.

She didn´t reply, then whirled around. He believed some of her earlier anger gone from her, but couldn´t be sure. It looked like she was trying hard to keep her composure, her voice told that, too and it made him feel awful. "Sorry for what?" she asked, her voice bearing a trace of bitterness. "If you never told me before, why tell me now? If you never managed to just…" she broke off, seemingly realising that this sentence was getting her nowhere. She shook her head at him. "Whyever should I care? I don´t even know you." And with that she walked off again, more slowly than before, but just as determined. Sinbad remained fixed in his place, but didn´t manage it and followed her. "Because I was a fool." he said, hurrying to keep up with her. "because I wouldn´t forgive myself if I didn´t tell you at some point." He overtook her and stopped her by taking her by both her upper arms. It astonished him that she didn´t shake him off this time. "I really was looking for you." he said. "to tell you just what I am telling you, now. Please, believe me, Maeve. I´ve been thinking. Helen showed up just a minute before you did, trying to talk me into something." No reply from her side this time, but not for lack of words that much he was sure about, merely because she was waiting if his answer was a good one. And so he spoke on. "I was wondering if you were asleep already and I´m… an idiot for letting myself be kept up." She seemed to have nothing against that and he tilted his head slightly, trying to make out in the dark how she reacted to it. His long bangs were falling into his face slightly.

"All right, all right…" she snapped, now shaking off his grip. He retreated at once, not intent on making her any more furious than she was already. "…whatever, Sinbad."

"No, no, no." he insisted when she meant to step past him. He was certain she rolled her eyes at that when she gave him one of her typical groans of annoyance. "I want you to believe me that. What I told you." She sighed. Paused. "All right." she then said, sounding more aggravated then calm, even though he could tell she was now making an effort in trying to sound civil. He forced back a smile because of this. "I… I don´t know what to do with all this Sinbad." she said. "So don´t expect me to… react in whatever way I should. I don´t even know how I would normally react to you." She flapped her hands in an aggravated way as her voice picked up "because, see _I don´t remember anything!_"

"I should have told you everything about this." he said. "I just thought you wouldn´t believe me. I thought you think I was some lecherous guy trying tricks with you."

For the first time she gave a short laugh. It sounded sarcastic, but it was, possibly, a start. "Oh, and if I didn´t already, Sinbad." she said, then, with a graceful movement of her body whirled around and started stalking back towards the gardens. The light of the torches and lanterns was not visible through the trees, but he guessed it was that direction. He just followed her, half a smirk appearing on his face, hidden by the darkness luckily, otherwise with the mood she was displaying right now, it might have earned him a well deserved slap in the face.

The tension between them remained, but was on a far more agreeable level now as they made their way back. She seemed intent on letting him know she was confused and hurt, yet not displaying the true extent of the latter of course, he was intent on acting in a way that would not enrage her further. Damn it, he thought, rewinding the evening in his mind. Whatever her reaction towards him confronting her with his feelings would have been, it could never have turned out so horrible had it not been for his stupid little delay just because even after years he could only make up his mind on his feelings for her with the speed of a slug. Had it not been for that, Helen would never have found him alone. Had it not been for her dropping by, Maeve would never have seen them… He scowled slightly when a new thought entered his head. They were approaching the gardens again and he sped up a little, now that the light allowed it, deciding he could dare to take less care for his steps but concentrate more on her again. "Maeve…" he said and she gave him a short look that spoke of stubbornness and of don't-you-think-I´ll-let-you-get-away-that-easily. "Why were you out here so late?" he asked. She stopped, faced him. Avoided his gaze for a moment before she met his eyes. "I couldn´t sleep." she just said. "I was just taking a walk."

Sinbad nodded, but narrowed his eyes slightly at the reply. He could tell she was lieing. He did know her quite well after all.

"I will go to bed now." she said. "I´ll…uhm…see you tomorrow, Sinbad."

He nodded and she walked away. He watched her until she turned to the left and walked inside, vanishing from his sight.

_Going for a walk…_ he thought. No… He was certain it was not that. She had been so confused, so upset that she had been unable to mask her feelings behind her usual façade of verbal banter and I claim I don´t care attitude. There was another thought about that which popped up in his mind and it was a hopeful thought, just as it was a devastating one, thinking about how her ambitions had ended there. The thought was … that she had been looking for him for the same reason he had wanted to go looking for her …


	28. Preparations and little things

_**Author´s note:**_

_Sorry fort he delay again, I was rather busy. But here´s an update for you guys and I hope it makes up for the long wait. :-) Oh, btw, there have been some registrations at my rpg board already but we are still looking for fans to join. We could need someone to play Firouz and someone to play Rongar, so anyone who is interested in them or interested in joining in general (our Rumina could do with a little baddie help just as well as the Nomad might still welcome some sailors), please drop me a pm and I´ll let you know the details :-)_

**Ila88**

Heh, thanks. :-) I had hoped to add a little dynamics with the hunt and the whole pushing Sinbad around in the darkness thing (…late over here… pushing around Sinbad in the darknes… mind: meet gutter), so I´m glad you liked it. Oh and thanks for the Happy Christmas :-) Hope you had nice holidays, too.

**Tai**

Interesting alternative. :)

Well, I do try to post more often but alas… (kicks self)

Yes, I still live in Germany. And by rpg I mean a forum where you can play a character and thus a story is developed along the lines of a plot that is set at the beginning, but you only get an outset so to say, the way things develops depends on characters interacting with each other. Unfortunately you do not have an account here or an e-mail address, otherwise I would send you the link, since does not appreciate linking. However, I have posted an add around quite some AoS places that seemed active enough.

**Ageofaagje**

I guess in that moment she just saw what she didn´t want to see. :-)

And yep, he did. It´s kind of making things rather complex for me as a writer from now on since their behaviour around each other is getting less predictable.

**MidnightDew**

Thanks :-) And yeah, it was rather diffcult to write which is why I am all the more glad to read that the tension I intended came across.

**TiaKisu**

Aw, thanks. :-) Yes, I agree, he is weak there. And writing weak Sinbad is weird in a way because it contradicts what he wants to show others. There will definitely be more to that and the tension will be upheld. The difficulty for me as a writer in this chapter was that there were also other matters to attend to, namely to set the crew back on their journey since time is pressing. So this chapter actually doesn´t hold too much interaction between the two, but that is definitely to follow. Not that easy to find solitude on that narrow little ship, heh.

**Chapter 28**

**Preparations and little things**

The next morning came faster than expected and yet the night drained on far longer than he had believed possible. Sinbad had not gone to bed. He had had the feeling that Maeve was not completely hostile with him, that at least part of her anger that she had shown towards him in the forest had evaporated, making place for a more pensive mood. Something that should make it possible for him to sleep, yet it didn´t. Maybe there was just too much weighing on his mind. The journey, the prospect of having to say goodbye to most of his crew, everything that had happened in the time since Maeve had involuntarily left them entwining with the events of the evening. He had waited too long and hadn´t it been for Philotes, he was almost certain he still would not have told her by now. He had meant to protect her and in this ambition had forgotten that she was not as fragile as he had assumed her to be. He had seen Maeve stand her ground countless times, she had proven often enough that she was not some frail woman, hell, she had hammered that into his head personally quite some times, yet he had not listened to that knowledge in the previous days. He didn´t find an exact answer to the why of such a behaviour, but guessed he had an idea: after finding her again he had felt overprotective, he still did, and how couldn´t he, given the circumstances of their reunion? After all those long travels without her where she had never left his mind completely, in all those long days when he had nearly allowed sadness and the feeling of missing her, consume him and let all this turn him into another man – one who was more reckless, colder, harder than the one he had been … after all those long days, he had not wanted to do anything to ever cause her harm again. And that probably had been wrong. It contradicted her personality, the way she wanted to be treated, it contradicted any reasonable gut feeling, if there even was such a thing.

After Maeve had retired for the mind he had just stood in the forest for a long moment and then made up his mind, knowing he would not be able to sleep. Instead, he had made his way down to the sea, a long walk, even longer through the dark, but he had found that there was a beach to the north that was closer than the beach where they had anchored. He had carefully avoided the fireplaces, the laughter and merriment where he had spotted some of his crew, even Rongar, Firouz and Doubar among them, knowing they would have gotten him involved in their little party with the inhabitants of this island and not allowed him to keep to his own thoughts. Instead he had found a spot by the sea and spent the time waiting for the morning drifting after his thoughts. His thoughts were heavy, but not merely so, they drifted this way and that, back into memory and forth into the future which he couldn't see clearly and that seemed to fade and waver somewhere between narrow escapes and yet another successful adventure and worse images of their quest failing in the last moment. And every time he was the cause for the failure. Therefore, he had allowed himself to dig into the other direction – past –and soon he had found better things to think about. Good memories that had made him smile. As he had watched the waves roll in, the water softly sparkling under the night sky, he had noticed that he had not smiled a lot for a long time. It had felt good.

When the sun started to rise, he got up from the rock he had been sitting on and tore his thoughts away from the nowhere they had been straying in. there were quite some matters at hand to deal with and he was not yet sure how to handle all of this or what to approach first, but he decided it would probably be best to just go by instinct. And his instinct told him there were things that he, as a captain had to see to, but also that he did have no intention to let Maeve down. He had told her what he had never dared to tell her before. Her reaction to it made it hard to guess what would come from it, but he would not take it back.

The way back towards Philote´s place seemed shorter to him than the way towards the sea had been. The morning was still very young and where there had been festivities going on close to the goddesses´ gardens some hours ago, there now was silence, only imprints in the grass and some remnants of camp fires reminding of the merry guests. It seemed as if the world was at perfect peace, a calmness one only rarely found, but that, strangely, seemed to mirror Sinbad´s emotions. He knew this feeling was not going to last. As soon as people would start getting up he would have to get things settled as quickly as possible and then set sail. He would also have to talk to Philotes again, maybe she could give him some hints. And also, she was the one who ruled over this island, so he would need her permission to leave his crew here… or at least, part of his crew. But until that happened, in these last few precious moments of peace, the captain of the Nomad allowed himself to indulge in just that peace. Legends had their own rumours about this island, they spoke of it as a resting place for the heroes, a place where those loved by the gods were brought to find calm. And strangely, even though he did not realise it to that extent, this was just what Elysion had turned out to be. For the first time in over a year, Sinbad the Sailor had managed to feel perfectly at ease.

He was the first one up, which was not unexpected, the gardens and everything still devoid of human life. He had not been to his quarters before, only briefly when Philotes had shown him to them, but he knew where they were, just as well as he knew where the rest of the crew was staying. Following an impulse, he picked an elegant, purple flower on his way towards the house, one out of hundreds that grew naturally in the garden, the blossoms the size of his hand. On his way to his room, he passed by the one where he guessed Maeve was still sleeping soundly and, hesitating a moment, he twirled the flower between his fingers, before he placed it on her doorstep. He nearly flinched when he heard a sound, only to find that it had not been the door opening, but merely a flap of wings past the large open arcade to his left.

************

"What you are asking from me is unheard of in the history of this island." The words of the goddess were softer than her choice of words would have suggested. "Those who come to this island come here because they earned their place here. It is the resting place for those weary and worthy heroes that have shown enough courage to be worth eternal life in peace and harmony."

She had risen to her feet and was now pacing the arcade in front of him. Half and hour had passed since Sinbad had returned from his nightly trip.

"I know." he replied. "but I am asking too much of them already."

"It is a place for those who are not among the mortals any more." Philotes said. "those you see here, are not dead, but they are not among the living either. They are immortal, yet no gods, taken away, removed from the realm of the living for this island is not part of the mortals´ realm."

"We did come here." Sinbad said. "On our own. Without any interference and not because any god or goddess wanted us to. We came here against all odds."

"And this is what amazes me." She fixed him with her friendly, ageless eyes.

"Then please, make an exception. For them. If we are successful, we will come back for them. If not, I have at least not sent them to their deaths."

Philotes halted in her step. She gave him a long look and Sinbad forced himself not to avert her gaze. He had the feeling she was able to look to the bottom of his soul and he felt ashamed for what she might see there.

"You have not told them." she stated, then sighed. "honesty, Sinbad, is a virtue. Even though…" she stepped closer, once more, just as she had done the night before, lightly touching his chin with a thumb. "…even though I know you do not do this on bad will, but for protection. But this is leading you astray Sinbad and you realize that now."

He lowered his gaze for a moment, before meeting her eyes again. He had to. He could not get his own cowardice get the better of him. this was not about him and his faults.

"We need to leave." he said. "and we need to leave today. I do not want to force them to come with us, I want to leave them a choice at least. But I can not give them that choice if they can not stay here."

Again, she seemed to penetrate his heart and soul with her gaze.

"Times are indeed strange." she said after a long, long while. "times when a simple, vengeful sorceress manages to set up god against god. Times when a simple man goes to the end of the world to safe the soul of his beloved." She paused. "I shall make an exception for your friends, Sinbad, but this you have to know: Elysion is no place for the living. They will not find the eternal joy here that those who come here due to my will have. It is not in the nature of things. Come back for them, Sinbad. They may live the lives of men here, but if they die here one day, if their bodies decay in this place, their souls will have to move on. And the places they will go will be the underworld. If you leave them here, if you do not come back, none of them will be able to stay here forever. You are denying true heroes their eternal bliss." She paused again, not from hesitation, but because she wanted to make sure he was listening closely and aware of the consequences.

_What if I took them along?_ he asked himself _If I did make them come, use my authority as a capitain against their will, again, keeping our destination a secret. They might turn against me, they might fight and all would be lost. Meave… would be lost._ Part of him realised that once more, not for the first time, he was about to wager one thing against the other, once more he was setting up one life against several. A younger, more careless Sinbad would never have come into such a situation. He sighed inwardly.

"I know your doubts." Philotes said, when she did not reply. "but this is all I can offer you."

He nodded, not in a way that showed he had understood. It was a nod that told her he accepted the offer.

"There is, however, one more thing." The goddess said, obviously seeing the previous matter as settled. "I am no sailor, but do you have …"

"…enough men?" Sinbad asked with a barely visible smirk. "Barely. It will become difficult, but my conscience will be all the lighter and that will make up for it."

For the first time this morning, Philotes let her seriousness slip and smiled. "Then let me make you an offer that I am willing to grant without dispute. Or rather, give you some advice that you might want to take up on. This island belongs to the realm of the gods but so does the place you are heading for. The inhabitants of this island can leave it as long as they stay in that realm. Those who live here have achieved great things in life in the one or other way. Some were great warriors, others … knew their ways around the seven seas. Some of them might welcome the offer of making up for the men who choose to stay behind. Give some heroes of old the chance for an adventure, if you wish, Sinbad."

He chuckled. "Gladly." he said, his voice half humourous. "and end up leading them to meet their fate in my crew´s stead…"

"No." Philotes replied. "the path of their souls was settled when they were brought here and removed from the world of the living. Whatever happens to their bodies, their souls will return here and remain eternal. And there is a lot more magic and power about this place than it might appear. Giving an immortal soul a new outer shell is no big trick."

************

Their conversation had went on for another few minutes with the goddess giving the captain some advice on their course. Then he had left and made his way down to the beach.It was not yet noon when Sinbad and his crew where back at the place where they had anchored the Nomad the day before. Sinbad had gathered his crew on the wide plane just at the lower slope of the hill that led up to Philotes´ villa, explaining the situation to them. He had told them that he was leaving them the choice: to stay here, hope for the crew´s happy return and if there was no return remain in happiness until the end of their days or come along and face mortal danger. Debating had started among the men with only Rongar, Firouz and Doubar not participating. It went without question for them that remaining behind was no option.

In the end, three of his men decided to stay on Elysion, a number not big enough to make him despair but big enough to make him be happy about the godess´ offer. While he had been talking, a crowd had gathered, inhabitants of the island intent on listening, happy for something interesting, something going on in this place of eternal peace. When Sinbad added his offer at the end and told the crowd that he was looking for men to replace those in his crew that chose to wait behind, three men immediately stepped forward. They introduced themselves as Menelaos, Peleus and Kadmos, all three of them strong men that held their heads high and proud, each of them older than Sinbad by many years. Menelaos looked like the strongest of the three, in size and strength equal, possibly surpassing Doubar´s massive statue, his brown hair tied back, his strong brown arms telling he had possibly fought quite some wars in his life. Peleus´ age seemed more difficult to guess, but he might have been as old as the first man or a little older, yet he was lacking the weakness and frailty of old men. His statue and his eyes were dignified and intelligent, his grey hair was kept short and, unlike Menelaos, he wore no beard. Kadmos seemed to be the youngest of them all, in his late thirties maybe, an agile, strong man, lighter on his feet than the previous two, his hair a mix of sandy brown and reddish glow, his face serious. Sinbad bowed to them and they returned the bow and in each pair of eyes he could see the sparkle that he knew so well: the lust for adventure. They started lining in with the crew at once, climbing into one of the boats and made for the Nomad. Sinbad waited, watching the men go aboard and the three of his own crew who had stayed behind. He had told them earlier that he did not hold anything against them and they had accepted that. Two of them were still very young, friends of the young Kareem who had died a few days back only. It hurt Sinbad to guess that this was maybe the reason why they were staying behind, a lack of trust in him that was his own fault, them holding him responsible for this death, but he knew he could not change it and there was no time to make amends.

Maeve had stood near him while he had been talking, just the way she usually had when they had still sailed together, not close enough to be mistaken for his spouse by those who didn´t know them, randomly standing in a lose group with his friends, but close enough to make him feel she was watching him. he kept wondering of the glances she gave him were benevolent or not. When he turned, watching the men man the boats, she remained a little longer, watching him, Dermot perched on the glove on her hand, seemingly just waiting until it was her turn to make for the ship. Must to his distress things had been so busy this morning that this was their first chance to talk alone.

"I hope you slept well." he said, after looking at her for a few long seconds, feeling like a jerk for not being able to come up with something more intelligent.

"Yeah…" she said in a contemplative tone that bore no negative connotation, lightly ruffling Dermott´s feathers. "I won´t complain." And she gave him a smile and turned around. "I guess we should be going, shouldn´t we?" her voice was a mix between her usual friendly attitude she had always displayed towards him ever since they had known each other a bit better and a rather lousy attempt to keep neutral around him. Trying to figure out where that came from, he looked after her, scowling slightly … and noticed the purple flower she had attached to the scabbard of her sword. He couldn´t help a broad smile before he caught up with her.

"Oh, and thanks for that." Maeve called out to him, not turning around but he could tell by her voice she was hiding a smile. He knew she was hinting at the flower. Something, the part of him, who had always loved their little banterings, caught up with it. "Who said it was from me?" he asked, noticing belatedly that by his choice of words alone he had given himself away.

She turned to look at him, a huff of sea air blowing her red hair into her face as she shrugged. "Oh well, maybe some little bird whispered it to me." Maeve just said, then she climbed into the boat.


	29. Near the rims of night

_**Author´s note:**_

_**I know, it took me a while and I´m sorry. I hope I can make up for the long wait :-)**_

**Modestus:**

I agree. The second season definintely lacked the humour of the first. There are one or two things that I like about season two but it´s nowhere even near season one. And yeah, the show never really had an end, even though, reading that interview with Ed Naha, I am almost glad there was never a season three :P.

Yup, sure thing. And the background on them starts in this chapter, at least on two of them. There will be more uncovered by and by as the story develops further but it will be more like little gimmicks that will also hopefully make those smile who know a bit about Greek mythology.

**Ageofaagje:**

Heh, thanks. It´s funny really, but when I write him these two sides appear almost automatically. That guy seems to have a really complex inner life and rather complex and difficult thoughts. I only hope that my readers are not bored with the parts where I describe his thoughts, they tend to stretch at times I know.

**Loveangel19**

Yay, a new face :-) There ya go, sorry it took me so long.

**TK:**

Thanks for reviewing. I´m glad you like it. :-)

**TiaKisu:**

No prob, I guess I don´t really have the right of complaining about anyone for being late (lol) (kicks her own butt). Heh, yeah. By the way, the two of them are kind of difficult to figure out at times as in right now. I´m not sure if this chapter is able to bring this across though.

**Chapter 29**

**Near the rims of night**

Their journey from Elysion started off well with benevolent winds taking them from the island´s shores a little more to the east first and then following a straight path north. It was against Sinbad´s experience as a sailor to try and ignore the four directions, but shortly before they had left, Philotes had advised them to do so. They had Maeve´s necklace to guide them and this was enough. More, even Philotes had been unable to tell them. The land of the dead was out of reach for the mortals, but with the guide that had been given to them there would be no question that it was possible for them to reach it. Rumina would have taken care for that. She would not have wanted to be denied the joy and glee of them maybe coming all the long way and despairing right in front of the throne of Hades. Therefore, Sinbad was certain that the passage into the land of the dead was open for them by whatever means.

The new additions to the crew had immediately started to make themselves useful with an enthusiasm that had surprised the captain and that had contradicted the rather heavy mood that their journey had taken on in the previous days. He wondered what explained this strange mood but quickly found the answer. Menelaos, Kadmos and Peleus had been dwelling on Elysion, but for how long he didn´t know. Years? Centuries? Ages? Their names meant nothing to him, but this didn´t mean anything. They had other gods than he had, maybe their culture had been a different one, too. However long their stay on the isle had been and however many years had passed since their time in the world of the living had ended, these three seemed eager to participate in a new adventure and this told him they had not had one in a long time. Elysion was a place of eternal bliss and piece, yet these men seemed joyful to be with them for a change. And this could only be for the good Sinbad decided when the afternoon came and he was directing the Nomad further north.

Maeve had not mentioned what had happened in the night before and he appreciated that for a reason he could not even clearly name. He had admitted his feelings towards her, but was still glad that she did not make it a big issue on board – denying himself the knowledge that people around him knew anyways and had known for longer than he himself had admitted these feelings towards anyone, not even himself. She seemed more at ease around him now with a slight curiosity she was trying to hide from him, but which became obvious in her eyes and body language which had not changed in the year they had been separated and Sinbad found great satisfaction standing at the tiller and finding out he could still read her so well. The tension around them had relaxed noticeably, changing into something that was a little closer to how things had once been even though of course the lack of memory on her side prohibited some things, but then again, new things had been added and he felt good about it, despite the fear concerning the end of their journey that was still and always lingering in the back of his mind.

Right now, the red headed sorceress was sitting on the captain´s cabin, not too close to him, but not too far away either. Dermot was perched next to her and her fingers were lightly running through his feathers. Sinbad had asked her earlier to keep attention to what the pendant was doing and now and then they would exchange some words on the course and she seemed to appreciate the calmness and trust he showed towards her. Beyond that, they acted comfortably around each other, but did not mention what had happened in the forest and garden. It was not necessary right now, the words were unspoken and between them anyways. It was as if both of them were trying to deal with them, trying to get accustomed to them with a little bit of uneasiness on both sides. If anyone of the crew had noticed – and Sinbad was certain they had – they respectfully stayed out of it. Or rather… most of them did.

"Careful, boy."

The voice came from somewhere behind and when Sinbad turned his head, he saw who it belonged to. Menelaos, one of the three they had taken with them from Elysion was standing nearby, fastening the ropes around the side of one of the masts with his strong brown arms. The moment Sinbad glanced at him, he turned to look, half a mischievous smile on his face which barely showed under his thick beard. Sinbad raised an eyebrow, both at the message itself and at the way he was being addressed. Menelaos didn´t seem to bother. He finished with the rope and stepped a bit closer. He was stronger than Sinbad and older, double his age when it came to his body, but of course age did not count on the eternal island.

"Women." Menelaos continued, not waiting for Sinbad to reply, his eyes shortly straying over to the sorceress who was just out of earshot. "Got nothing but trouble with them, mark my words, lad."

"So?" Sinbad replied, his voice neutral in a way that meant neither agreement nor even the admittance that his thoughts had been circling around Maeve. He barely knew Menelaos and since it had taken him so long to admit things to those it concerned, he would surely not chat about it with an almost stranger. Leave alone with one who looked like he saw himself superior in all this. "How would you know. Menelaos?"

The other man stepped closer and crossed his arms in front of his chest, coming to stand next to the captain as he looked across the Nomad´s deck. His and Maeve´s eyes met shortly, and the sorceress looked away again, slight stubbornness in her eyes that made Sinbad smile inwardly. Just as if she had heard…

"Experience of a long live, sailor." Menelaos said, not using any title or name whatsoever. Sinbad did not know anything about him, but from what he saw about this man alone he guessed he had been a leader of some sort. His whole mannerism, the way he spoke and the way he reacted towards others made this likely. Had he been a warrior? A king? He couldn´t tell.

"They are beautiful. Enchanting." He chuckled, a sound that was swallowed by the beard as much as his smile had been. Sinbad scowled slightly, knowing that had he been any younger or anywhere more relaxed and not on a journey to save Maeve´s life and soul, he would have blushed because unknowing or not, Menelaos sure struck a point. He just scowled slightly and the other man stepped a bit closer. "Take no offense", he said, patting Sinbad on the shoulder as if they had been comrades for years. "it may be different with any man and woman, but I have fought wars over mine. And she wasn´t worth it. She preferred another over me." Briefly wondering why he told him all this, Sinbad noticed the taller and much heavier man shrug his shoulders. It looked almost comical. Then he chuckled. "As I said," he repeated. "no offence."

"None taken." Sinbad replied when Menelaos did a few steps back again, his eye still directed at Maeve, hands now resting at his belt. "At least she seems to have better manners." he commented and Sinbad noticed he did not like the way this man talked about Maeve – or women in general for that matter. Had this been in a tavern, this might have been the point where he would have taken up the argument and possibly fight it out. But not here.

"I trust on your manners then, too." he said instead, making sure his gaze was locked with that of Menelaos, his voice not unfriendly, but stating authority against a man who was quite many years his senior.

Menelaos held his gaze for a moment, then nodded slowly, his body language once more betraying the manners of someone powerful. With a small chuckle, he turned to busy himself with the rope again.

"Don´t listen to him." another voice called over to him. "He is just bitter that his wife denied him." It was another one of their new arrivals, Peleus who seemed wiser and older than the first man. "Stop making such vain accusations, Menelaos, we all paid a bitter price for your revenge. I paid with the life of my son, so leave it at peace now." Peleus´words were more cultivated, but that didn´t take away anything of the fact that these two men were fighting their own little fight here, on deck of his ship.

"This is enough." Sinbad therefore stated, his voice serious and just a trace of anger swinging in it. Maeve, noticing, looked up from Dermott for a moment. "I will not allow rivalries on this ship." he stated, tossing her a brief glance. "Is that understood?"

Peleus glanced at Menelaos for a moment, a calm gaze of a man who knows his status in a hierarchy whereas Menelaos reminded him of a tense predator. Then both men nodded and a moment later the tension was gone when both of them tended to their work again.

*****

Sinbad left his post at the tiller only a few minutes later when Rongar took over the shift. Walking over to Firouz who was somewhere near the other end of the ship, he propped a foot against the railing and rested his lower arms on his knee.

"Not even a day ahead and we already have rivalries." he said, half joking, but the matter was serious. "Maybe it wasn´t such a good idea to take them along at all."

Firouz gave a shrug. He had been busy with one of his inventions, something where Sinbad couldn´t even start to guess what it was. "They were powerful in their days after all, Sinbad." The inventor said when fastening a small lever. "or at least if my knowledge about history serves me right."

"You know who they are?"

Firouz looked over to the two of them who were now each tending to their own tasks. "Yes." he said. "they are mentioned in the historic chronicles I studied many years ago when I started studying science. Sometimes history can be really helpful, because the ideas you get there, you know, Sinbad, ideas from ancient adventures, can be a great help. This thing here for example, the first draft was taken from…"

Sinbad chuckled. "Can we delay the science lesson Firouz? Who are they?"

Firouz hesitated a moment, but did not contradict, obviously not really seeing a reason to pout because Sinbad showed interest in something else he knew. With a nod of the head he indicated towards the younger of the two. "Menelaos was a king." he said. "and he was married to er… Helen of Troy."

"Helen of Troy?" Sinbad exclaimed, the memory of the young blonde still vivid in his mind.

"Yes." Firouz confirmed. "the chronicles say one of the princes of Troy, Paris, took her with him because he loved her and he took her to Troy. Menelaos called together the Greeks and led them to war against Troy. They beleaguered the city for years before it fell. Helen and Paris escaped somehow." Sinbad nodded, watching the older man carefully. "What about Peleus?" he asked. "was he in the war, too?"

"Er…I don´t know. But his son was. Achilles. Big warrior, invincible and favoured by the gods if you believe in this sort of thing." He added with a grin and a shrug.

Sinbad tried to keep himself from rolling his eyes and reminding the inventor that he had seen enough in the last couple of days that did not match with science and went very deep into religion, belief and mythology. But he didn´t. There was no use in trying to challenge a scientific mind.

"I see." He said instead with a small smirk, his gaze was more travelling over towards the two men. As long as they kept their personal rivalries to themselves he would not get into trouble with them.

He turned to look across the ocean, only then noticing that the wind had nearly died down. The waters were untroubled, no waves disturbing its perfect blue surface that lay under a bright blue sky which had not even changed colour in the slightest even though evening started to come. With a scowl, the captain looked up at the sails and could see that they were full in the wind, looking just as if there was a strong breeze guiding them. However, the sea itself was perfectly calm …

Something about all this was just not right. It was as if the ship was moving on its own accord or rather as if it was being pulled or guided by something. Sinbad felt his senses sharpen. The last few days had been troublesome and whenever something strange had happened it had usually meant danger ahead, therefore it would be good to be on guard. His eyes were still fixed on the sky when something … happened to it. Like everyone, Sinbad was used to a slow and almost unnoticeable nightfall, a soft fade from blue to black. But this was different. The sky suddenly changed its colour, just as if someone had pulled a dark curtain of blue velvet over it in a swift and powerful movement, changing light to dark.

Sinbad turned his head quickly and ran over to the railing to follow the movement only to notice he had been right. Night was falling … but faster than he had ever seen. It was as if the day was wiped out, as if a curtain was suddenly drawn. He could hear people on deck exclaim in fear and surprise and he could fear Firouz gasp next to him, but did not pay attention. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the rim of night. There was a light ahead, like a moving star guarding night, moving swiftly across the horizon from south to north like a chariot that pulls the dark blue of the nightly sky after it. The light swiftly travelled across the sky, across the Nomad and further north towards the edges of the eerily calm ocean. Like a falling star it sank closer and closer towards the water´s edge in a distance too far to measure. The world turned dark as it fell and as its journey across the sky darkened it, extinguishing the last bits of daylight when the star fell, its light blazing so brightly for a moment that Sinbad covered his eyes with an arm. Then the star was gone and night was there and the night that had been dark before, after the falling of the star, was now full of stars. Silence fell. And silent it had been throughout the chariot´s ride.

"That´s… what I call nightfall." he heard Firouz say to him while he still had his eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to make out the point where the star chariot had come to rest. What was there? Was it the end of the world?

He had not even noticed that Maeve had gotten up and walked to join him. Only when she spoke to him did the captain notice that she was there. "Look." She said and when he did, he saw that the amulet was shining more brightly than it ever had, its light dimming again slightly while he looked.

"When that just happened, it was shining like a little sun." Maeve said, her voice sounding a little shaken. "I think it´s still guarding us the way. We have to go there." She pointed out towards he had been looking. "Where the star touched the sea."

Sinbad nodded, realising what had just happened. This was not the end of the world. Or maybe it was. Here, at the rims of day and night where nightfall could be watched in the form of a fiery chariot drawing nightly skies over that of day, here they were close to the land of the dead. And its entrance was just ahead. And it had just opened for a moment.


End file.
